François and Julien Pinon craft some of Vouvray’s most esteemed wines, farming top hillside parcels in the Vallée de Cousse on clay–silica soils over tuffeau limestone and flint. François, who took over the family estate in 1987 after a career as a child psychologist, focuses on expressing both varietal and vintage character, while Julien’s arrival has deepened their commitment to organic viticulture, hand harvesting, plowing, and native-yeast fermentations. The wines ferment in barrel and age in stainless steel or large foudres, remaining on fine lees for a year before bottling; gentle filtration, rather than heavy SO₂, protects their longevity. Their two flagship cuvées highlight distinct terroirs: “Trois Argiles,” from heavier clay-limestone soils, is a tender, apple- and quince-toned off-dry style, while “Silex Noir,” from parcels rich in black flint, reflects the mineral tension of ancient seabeds. They also produce excellent sparkling Vouvray and, in favorable vintages, the full range of styles—from sec and demi-sec to moelleux and, more rarely, liquoreux—from botrytized or passerillé fruit.
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