Vincent Carême Vouvray Plaisir l’Ancestral 2021

'The Plaisir Ancestral is a natural sparkling wine made in the pétillant style. There has been a small change to the name of the very popular wine due to a change in the use of the term Ancestrale in the south-west of France, therefore we are listing it as “Plaisir l’Ancestral” because Plaisir is the new term for what used to be the old Ancestrale.

The fermentation starts in tank and the wine is then bottled while still fermenting (at around 18-20 grams sugar) and then finishes in the bottle without the addition of any sugar and using only the natural yeasts.

Vincent Careme uses a small heater to keep the temperatures in his tuffeau caves to 14C to ensure that the fermentation continues during winter. He then disgorges (removes the sediment) from the bottles tops them up, seals them and puts them away for two years to mature.

Despite this, there is a tiny amount of residual sugar (the very hot year meant that there were fewer yeasts on the grapes) which gives the wine a pleasant balance due to the lingering acidity.

This is an incredibly elegant wine that displays a distinct minerality and a very fine bead. This year they added 1 gram per hectolitre of sulphites on disgorgement.'

- Living Wines