The pure and intriguing nose of the 2020 Le Mont Sec is fine and focused, offering a flinty, smoky note as well as white flowers, pineapple and just-ripe pear. A taut and precise style that delivers plenty of concentration yet conveys a sense of delicacy in the mouth. It has a fine, structured, lengthy finish, an element of tension holding the palate with confident grip. Unfinished sample.

The 2017 Le Mont Demi-Sec is cut from the same cloth as the le Mont Sec, yet has slightly more weight and richness. Thrilling notes of honeyed apples, caramelized limes, tangerine peel, and ripe pineapple notes all emerge from this full-bodied, deep, beautifully textured beauty that has ample density and richness, yet still glides across the palate with no sensation of weight or heaviness. It has thrilling depth of fruit, bright acidity, integrated sweetness, and perfect balance, all making for a totally captivating Vouvray to enjoy over the coming two decades or more. If drinking any time soon, a healthy decant is recommended, as this didn't start to shine until day two.

The only dry wine from the vintage is the 2020 Vouvray Le Mont Sec, whose tank sample shows a classy, pure, precise and chalky/lemony bouquet with bright and perfectly healthy fruit and some herbal as well as yeasty aromas. On the palate, this is a dense, fabulously juicy, fruity and elegant Chenin whose immediate attraction and pure finesse initially reminds me of Riesling, whereas the texture is too rich and the salty and finely tannic finish too intense and powerful for Riesling. With more aeration, the Le Mont gets more and more intense and complex but also, tannic-wise, more wild. The 2020 has great tension, energy and grip and is highly promising. Tasted a few days before bottling in April 2021.

This refined white shows lovely purity, with persimmon, coriander, yellow apple and creamed peach notes, backed by vivid acidity. Elements of flint, marzipan and honeysuckle unwind on the long, alluring finish. A striking Chenin Blanc. Drink now through 2036. 400 cases made.