Summary
Most important white wine appellation in Touraine. The wines vary enormously in quality and sweetness levels. The best sites are located on the tuffeau slopes of the Loire river and experience a south facing aspect. The harvest period is one of the last in France involving a number of tries through the vineyard due to uneven fruit ripening. Winemaking is dedicated to bottling early, preserving the pure fruit characteristics and maintaining the naturally present high acidity. In the coolest vintages, only dry and sparkling wines are made. In the best years, late harvest sweet wines are available, and even some noble rot expressions. A lack of sweetness labelling has hindered some of the success of this area, however a recent shift of listing residual sugar is become commonplace.