(residual sugar: 105g/l) Ripe, rich, very concentrated and with very good acidity. Medium length.

Pierre-Yves Tijou and his sons offer a wide array of wines – and from numerous vintages simultaneously – including many user-friendly and well-priced examples of both dry and sweet Chenin. Bottled for the last time in this vintage and just coming on the market, the Soucherie 2002 Coteaux du Layon Vieilles Vignes smells of quince and honey, along with a whiff of wood smoke and of alkaline, briny minerality. Rich and mouth-filling on the palate, this adds orange liqueur and ginger spice to its quince and honey, finishing with superb length and purity. This has a long future ahead of it. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

The 1996 Coteaux du Layon Vieilles Vignes is a stunning wine. Highly expressive aromas of minerals, flowers and honeyed herbal tea are followed by a super-complex, concentrated and layered personality jam-packed with well-delineated flavors of quince, candied lemons, and earth. This gorgeous, medium-to-full-bodied and intense wine has a fabulously long and elegant finish. Anticipated maturity: 1999-2020. Importer: Neil Rosenthal, Select Vineyards, Shekomeko, NY; tel (800) 910-1990.