Foreau Brut Vouvray

This bottling has been here for a while. Like many things we buy, it doesn't sell as fast as it should, but it ages so beautifully we don't rush it out the door. Now its fragrance is so enchantingly rich with nugat and orchids. This aged bottling shows more of the Chenin varietal's soft middle with lemon custard finish; really lovely!
- wine tasting note by LAC, April 27, 2010

Expert Review

Excerpt from "More Than One Part of France Is Fizzy"
By ERIC ASIMOV
Published: December 20, 2010, The New York Times

"Curious about the non-Champagne side of French sparkling wine, and true to its seasonal obligation, the wine panel recently tasted 20 bottles of Gallic bubbly. For the tasting Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Pascaline Lepeltier, wine director of Rouge Tomate restaurant in Midtown, and Victoria Levin, general manager of the Tangled Vine, a wine bar on the Upper West Side."

“Sparkling wine is not only bubbles,” Pascaline said. “It’s also a wine.” In many of our favorites, we could sense what she called “the frankness of the grape.” This was especially clear in the three sparkling Vouvrays in our top 10, all of which expressed the character, in different ways, of the chenin blanc grape."

"Our favorite, the Philippe Foreau brut, was complex and savory, dry yet with the telltale touch of honey that to me always indicates chenin blanc."

BEST VALUE
Philippe Foreau Vouvray, $24, *** ½
Clos Naudin Brut NV
Complex and distinctive with savory, toasty flavors and a touch of honey, yet dry and refreshing.

Food Pairings

Raw oysters, no kidding. Seafood salads. Asian foods, trout, smoked fish, chicken.