A superb, essentially dry Vouvray that sells for a song, the 2010 Cuvee Silex exhibits wonderfully flowery, melony aromas in its fragrant aromatics along with medium-bodied, crisp, pure flavors and an attractive flinty character. There is some residual sugar, but good acidity largely masks that component. Enjoy it over the next 1-2 years. Importer: Peter Weygandt, Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

Fouquet’s 2009 Vouvray Cuvee Silex is effectively what many growers refer to as “sec tendre” in character, with its discreet residual sugar supportive and subtly noticeable, and its soil origins are obvious from the name, though his single-site Girardieres also originates in flint-rich soil. A nose of fresh quince, Persian melon, and honeysuckle leads to a palate subtly silken in texture, impeccably balanced, and with a prominently wet stone mineral character along with bittersweet hints of candied citrus rind. This lacks the sense of clarity or wafting inner-mouth florality that can accrue to this cuvee at its best, but those are not virtues very compatible with the 2009 vintage. Fortunately, the finish here does not lack for sense of either citric refreshment or of mineral cling. This vintage, incidentally, perpetuates Fouquet’s limited use of screwcap closures, a big improvement on the plastic stoppers that caused his wonderful 2005 Silex to go downhill precisely when it should have entered its glory at 3-5 years of age. It was good to be able to taste an expanded range of Bernard Fouquet’s many cuvees, some if which – I am ashamed to admit – I had never tasted before, having never paid him a visit. Fouquet has followed the fashionable tendency to abolish labeling with “sec” or “demi-sec” as a taste indicator (a trend notably resisted by Fouquet’s two best-known neighbors and arguably the only ones making even more exciting wine than his, namely Foreau and Huet). As with many growers’ German Rieslings, the surest hint to the wines’ degrees of sweetness is the levels of alcohol indicated on the label. But with one exception that he does label “sec,” it’s true that from 2009 none of Fouquet’s still wines taste totally dry.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

Bernard Fouquet’s 2008 Vouvray Cuvee Silex was not picked until October 8 (and then at over 13% natural alcohol) and it shows in a wine whose combination of ripeness, hint of botrytis, and brightness puts me in mind of 1996. Lychee, yellow cherry, Mirabelle, quince, and narcissus in the nose lead to a musky, subtly oily, chalk-inflected, honeyed, yet incisively zesty palate. This combines richness and palpably high extract with cut and invigoration in a way that only Chenin (and then only in the Central Loire) can. Its 6 grams of residual sugar perfectly set off the yellow fruits and hint of honey in this wine’s long finish. This formidably-concentrated yet elegant wine is worth following for at least half a dozen years. That’s assuming the screw-caps used in bottling for the U.S. cuvee since the 2007 vintage are up to that challenge. In other markets, you’re out of luck, because Fouquet normally bottles this extraordinary and otherwise ageworthy cuvee with a plastic stopper, to which I attribute the loss of aromas in my bottles of 2005 after a couple of years. The latest installment of what is surely the consistently best value in its appellation,Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800