At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Loire
- Main grape
- Chenin Blanc in Terre Brûlée Le Blanc 2017
- Sparkling wines
- Brut non vintage, L'Ancestrale 2014, Cuvée T 2016
- Still wine styles
- Sec, Tendre, Moelleux, Première Trie
- Named wines
- Le Peu Morier 2015 and Le Clos 2015
The Producer
Vincent Carême's Loire domaine makes sparkling and still wines across several sweetness levels. Chenin Blanc appears in Terre Brûlée Le Blanc 2017, a 100% Chenin Blanc wine from South Africa, while Cuvée T 2016 belongs to the sparkling range. Le Clos 2015 is a Loire single vineyard wine, and Le Peu Morier 2015 is another named bottle from the still range.
The estate also reaches beyond cellar work. Vincent Carême holds a teaching position at the Lycée Agricole et Viticole d'Amboise, combining domaine work with viticulture education.
Place
The Loire range is organized around both sparkling wine and sweetness. Brut non vintage and L'Ancestrale 2014 sit on the sparkling side, while Sec 2016, Tendre 2015, Moelleux 2015 and Première Trie 2015 mark dry, semi sweet and sweet still styles.
South Africa enters through Terre Brûlée Le Blanc 2017. The bottle is made from 100% Chenin Blanc, giving the range a second national setting without changing the grape named on the label.
Story
The vineyard began with 5 hectares and later expanded to approximately 24 hectares. Vincent Carême also holds a teaching position at the Lycée Agricole et Viticole d'Amboise. The estate's work therefore combines a growing vineyard with a continuing role in viticulture education.
The bottles cover a wide stylistic spread. Sparkling wines sit beside dry, semi sweet and sweet still wines, while named wines such as Le Peu Morier and Le Clos give the still range narrower points of focus.
Wines
The sparkling range includes Brut non vintage, L'Ancestrale 2014 and Cuvée T 2016. The still wines move from Sec 2016 to Tendre 2015, Moelleux 2015 and Première Trie 2015. Tendre 2015 is semi sweet with 20 g/L residual sugar. Moelleux 2015 carries 45 g/L, while Première Trie 2015 carries 100 g/L.
Le Peu Morier 2015 and Le Clos 2015 are named still wines, with Le Clos identified as a single vineyard wine. Terre Brûlée Le Blanc 2017 sits outside the Loire range as a South African Chenin Blanc, while Terre Brûlée also includes a red wine from 2016.
In The Glass
Brut non vintage shows apple and pear, with a hint of sweetness and a generous, rounded profile. L'Ancestrale 2014 is bright and lemony, with fresh, pure fruit and a linear finish.
Sec 2016 brings tangerine and lemon, delicate spice and tingling acidity. Sec 2015 is stony and spicy, with mineral acidity and a clear pull between freshness and richness. Le Peu Morier 2015 adds citrus, pear and apple to a vital, stony palate with remarkable acidity. Le Clos 2015 is more expansive, with explosive mineral character, a lemony core, grapefruit and nectarine.
The sweet wines move from rich, appley and stony Tendre to the yellow plum, pear, nectarine and savoury notes of Moelleux. Première Trie is powerful and intense, with marked complexity and spicy acidity. Terre Brûlée Le Blanc 2017 brings yellow apple, Meyer lemon, herbal notes and strong minerality.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Cuvée T 2016. It is a Chenin Blanc sparkling wine with floral and fruity notes led by apple and honeysuckle. The finish turns to toasted vanilla cream, giving the bottle a clear combination of grape character, bubbles and developed texture.
Anecdote
At age 14, Vincent Carême discovered a passion for wine. His parents were cereal farmers, so he entered the subject as a first generation producer. He studied viticulture, then worked harvests in Sancerre, Champagne and Alsace before establishing his domaine in 1999. The path crossed several French wine regions before reaching his own cellar. Domaine Vincent Carême began with 5 hectares.
Final Word
Domaine Vincent Carême joins Loire sparkling and still wines with dry, semi sweet and sweet styles, while Terre Brûlée Le Blanc 2017 extends the Chenin Blanc work to South Africa.
Sources
https://vincentcareme.fr/en/the-estate/ https://www.thewinedoctor.com/loire/vincentcareme.shtml https://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog/loire/loire-adventure-vincent-careme-vouvray https://vintnerproject.com/people/vincent-careme-a-champion-for-chenin/