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The grapes for this wine come from 40-year-old vines in the newly created appellation of Touraine-Chenonceaux, which includes the highest vineyards on the right bank of the Cher River. Using a technique from his mentor Didier Dagueneau, Vincent works with two types of containers for the fermentation and aging of Tasciaca. The winemaking process involves placing ¾ of the production in used 400-liter barrels, while the remaining ¼ is placed in 25 hl “cuve tronconique.” In the glass, the nose develops with aromas of Fuji apples, white grapefruit, early harvest pineapple, and elderflower, as well as hints of pistachios and kaffir lime. On the palate, the wine has notes of quince, nectarines, ginger, persimmon, and saline minerality, along with a round texture that is balanced by a refreshing citrus finish.
About this wine producer: Vincent Ricard is the perfect example of the kind of winegrower I admire the most: the first in his family to estate-bottle his wines. When he took over the family estate in 1998, Vincent immediately quit the Oisly-Thésée Cave Cooperative, which had been founded by his grandfather. He never looked back, and is now one of the Loire Valley’s most admired young growers, regularly crafting wines that are the equal of any top Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. The entire harvest is bottled at the estate. There are seventeen hectares planted mostly to Sauvignon Blanc, with small parcels of Cot (Malbec), Breton (Cabernet Franc), and Gamay. The farming is entirely organic, and incorporates practices learned from the discipline of biodynamics, which Vincent encountered while working with Claude Levasseur, the uncle of François Chidaine of Montlouis and Vouvray.
$22.50