france: loire_valley
Charles Bove, Vouvray
The Charles Bove company was founded in the 19th century in Montrichard, in the Loire Valley. Its base of operations was, and is, an enormous rock quarry, abandoned after it had been quarried for building the Loire Chateaux. This old quarry is now composed of 15 kilometers of underground cellars, with hardly varying temperatures of 12°C, summer and winter. The humidity inside is ideal for making and storing wines.
The company specializes in sparkling wines but also has an extensive portfolio of still wines. The domaine buys juice after tasting vintages at each property. The wines are then vinified, blended and bottled at Bove. The intrinsic qualities of the different wines are optimized by blending them together in one single vat. Reserve stocks allow them to offset variable weather conditions. At the end of the bottling operation, during which the wine is topped up with liqueur de tirage, the bottles, capped with metal temporary caps, are stored in the chalk cellars. They are "laid" on "lathes", that is to say stored horizontally, with each layer separated from the previous one by a thin wooden lathe. Over a period of about 4 months, a second fermentation occurs.
The Wines
- Sparkling Wine: : is composed of a selection of juice from the vineyards of the Loire Valley and is based heavily on Chenin Blanc with a dollop of Chardonnay to add richness. The wine is made according to traditional methods; during the bottle fermentation and maturation, it is kept lying on lathes for more than 18 months.
- Vouvray: Wines from the Vouvray region have been on French kings’ tables since the 14th century. The wine is made up of 100% Chenin Blanc; Vouvray wine is steely and vivacious when young and ages magnificently for decades because of its dynamic balance between acidity and sweetness.
- Sparkling Rosé: A méthode traditionelle sparkling made from 70% Cabernet Franc (fine aromatics and acidity) and 30% Gamay (fruit and low alcohol). The wine rests on its lees in Bove’s chalk caves for eighteen months before being disgorged. This is fresh, dry, and very pleasing.
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