2015 Bourillon Dorleans La Coulee d’Argent Montgouverne Vouvray Sec

The Under-the-Radar White We Love

Few under-the-radar whites excite us as much as dry Vouvray—so why do we offer it so infrequently? Because the amazing Loire whites we have tasted in our time have set the bar high, and not much of the Vouvray that makes it to the States, and to our tasting panel, can clear it. With those standards in mind, we present the 2015 Bourillon Dorléans La Coulée d’Argent Montgouverne Vouvray. The third and fourth generations of the Dorléans family are approaching the clan’s hundredth year producing wine on the banks of the Loire. The Coulée d’Argent hails from 30-year-old vines that are hand-harvested, gently pressed, and aged sur lie for six months. The robust mouthfeel, baked apple, lanolin, and minerality displayed by the Coulée d’Argent are exactly what we look for in Chenin Blanc, and exactly what we love to pass on to Wine Access clients—on the rare occasion we find it.

It seems like every time we say “Sommelier’s choice”—whether we’re at Le Bernardin, Per Se, Gary Danko, or even Compline in Napa—a Chenin Blanc lands on our table, even if it’s not on the list. Ask a seasoned sommelier what his or her favorite under-the-radar white is, and our money is on Chenin. And nowhere does Chenin shine like in Vouvray.

The Dorléans domaine, which Gaston Dorléans founded in 1921 and is now run by his grandson Frédéric and his family, boasts 75 acres in Vouvray, all of which are planted to Chenin. The property is a picture of the Loire ideal: Seemingly endless golden-green vineyards with grass planted in between the rows, and tuffeau caves that date back to the 15th century and whose walls, through the carvings of ancient artists, tell the stories of the Touraine region and pay homage to Saint Martin of Tours.

The 2015 Bourillon Dorléans La Coulée d’Argent is a worthy homage to one of the great white grapes, and to a century of meticulous winemaking. No chemical pesticides of fertilizers are used in the vineyards at the Dorléans domaine, where the wines undergo élevage—part stainless steel- and part barrel-fermentation, then six months aging sur lie—in the domaine’s maze of limestone caves. What makes it into the bottle is the kind of white wine that somms everywhere love to turn appreciative drinkers on to: It is rich and full, ripe and mineral, and with the acidic backbone to thrive in the cellar. You’ll be thanking us for this one, both on the day it arrives and, if you have the patience, years down the road.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 13.00%
• Enjoy right away
• Now – 2040
• % Chenin Blanc
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Cork