Sparkling Vouvray Clos de la Meslerie 2012

Sparkling Vouvray Clos de la Meslerie 2012, biodynamic wine, Cremant style sparkling, mature vintage, rich, golden and nutty.  Peter Hahn only makes a sparkler in certain years when the fruit is plentiful and the conditions right.  This Sparkling Vouvray from 2012 shows how good it can be.  There is a gorgeous honeyed texture in the wine.  It is now10 years old but the beautiful back bone of acidity is keeping the wine well in check.  It has a subtle and elegant mousse, nuttiness, creamy lactic  character and very ripe stone fruits.  As an alternative to a mature Champagne, this Biodynamic Sparkling Chenin would be a winner.

Peter Hahn is an American who bought the tired vineyard of Clos de la Meslerie after becoming disenchanted with his world of investment banking in Paris.

He followed his passion and became a vigneron.  From the very start his instincts told him the only way was the natural way. It took several years to bring life back to this tiny 4 hectare estate.  Two decades of conventional farming had sucked the energy from the soil and environment.  Peter had a re-education in Viticulture and Eonology in 2005.  Then after several years of hard graft he eventually created in 2008 the new Clos de la Meslerie Vouvray and with outstanding results.

Peter now has this wine and his terroir in his blood. He is unusual in that he hails from a different world.  But he has found his true home and his his meaningful life working as a farmer in a small village in rural France . His philosophy mirrors everything that we think about wine here at Buon Vino.  He is an inspirational wine maker.

The wine itself is nothing short of pure gold, every year it is different, Some years Le Meslerie is drier, some years sweeter, but always pure and always delicious.  He follows Biodynamic principles and simply allows the wine to be as nature intends each vintage.  This is brave when the market still always looks for consistency. But however his wine turns out, it is always delicious and extremely drinkable.