2023 Domaine des Aubuisieres "Cuvee Gerald" Vouvray (Demi-Sec)

Staff Reviews

KM

Keith Mabry

Keith Mabry

K&L Buyer

Review Date: 05/2026

We don’t see nearly enough demi-sec Chenin Blanc these days, which is part of what makes this new arrival from Domaine des Aubuisières such a pleasure. One of my favorite rising stars in Vouvray, the domaine has the ability to balance richness and freshness beautifully. Here, a touch of sweetness adds weight and texture to Chenin Blanc’s naturally bright acidity, giving the wine a rounder, more supple feel on the palate. Notes of crisp apple, fresh honey, and jasmine tea unfold effortlessly, with enough lift and energy to keep everything vibrant and refreshing. This little star shines brightly at the table and feels tailor-made for spicy, savory, and salty dishes. Sounds like I may be ordering Thai curry alongside this one.

Notes

Though Vouvray is one of France’s historic wine regions, Domaine des Aubuisières is a relatively modern estate, built largely through the hard work of Bernard Fouquet beginning in the early 1980s. Starting with just a handful of family vineyard parcels, Bernard steadily expanded the domaine with prized holdings across the appellation, including sites rich in both Vouvray’s classic limestone and flinty silex soils. In 2021, Charles and Menehould Lesaffre took over the winery, and by 2023 had begun the process of converting the vineyards to organic farming. The Cuvée Gérald reflects a classical style of Vouvray. The vines are planted on clay-limestone and siliceous clay soils, and all of the grapes are fermented in large temperature-controlled vats. The wine is bottled with roughly 29 g/L of residual sugar, giving it a touch of richness while still preserving the freshness and tension that make Vouvray so compelling. The wines are rooted in Chenin Blanc’s ability to transmit terroir, balancing vibrant fruit with the region’s signature mineral character. Today, under Charles Lesaffre - who took over the estate in 2021 - the domaine has continued its focus on precise, terroir-driven winemaking while placing greater emphasis on organic and biodynamic farming. The result is a lineup of wines that captures both the texture and energy that make great Vouvray so compelling.