Domaine du Clos Naudin (Philippe Foreau)

Armand Foreau served during the Great War and returned home to Vouvray as a civilian in 1919. In 1923 he established the Domaine du Clos Naudin, acquiring a small swathe of vineyards around the house on the Rue de la Croix Buisée that forms the heart of the domaine, and some just to the south on the première côte. Armand took the Foreau family into viticulture for the first time, and his name appears in a 1925 list of Vouvray vignerons in the Journal Officiel. He passed the domaine to his son André Foreau, who in turn handed it to Philippe, the youngest of three brothers. Philippe joined his father in 1980, after completing his military service. The early 1980s were difficult: in 1981 a frost on April 4th brought the yield down to 18 hl/ha. In 1983 the business was legally signed over to Philippe, the first year in which he was in control. More recent setbacks include hail in 2013, which cost the domaine 50% of the crop, and mildew in 2012.

• 1919: Armand Foreau returned to Vouvray after the Great War; 1923: he established the Domaine du Clos Naudin.
• 1925: Armand Foreau appears in a list of Vouvray vignerons in the Journal Officiel.
• 1980: Philippe Foreau joined his father André; 1983: the business was legally signed over to Philippe.
• 1981: a frost on April 4th cut the yield to 18 hl/ha; 2013: hail cost 50% of the crop.

As of 2022, the domaine was a family domaine passing from one generation of the Foreau family to the next. As of November 2022, Philippe Foreau was gradually stepping back from his role and his son Vincent Foreau, the fourth generation of vignerons in the family, was increasingly in charge. By November 2018 Vincent's name appeared on the labels, and the 2012 Vouvray Brut was released with a newly designed label.

• Philippe Foreau: in control from 1983; gradually stepping back as of November 2022.
• Vincent Foreau: Philippe's son and the fourth generation; increasingly in charge as of November 2022, with his name on the labels by November 2018.

Despite the name, there is no true clos here: Domaine du Clos Naudin refers solely to the domaine of the Foreau family. The domaine has long stood at 11.5 hectares, and three-quarters of the Foreau vines sit on the première côte. Many of the vines in the lieu-dit Les Perruches, east of Le Mont on the stretch of première côte between the Rue de la Croix Buisée and the Rue de la Vallée Chartier, belong to the Foreau family, and it is the source of much of the domaine's fruit; Champalou and Domaine Huet also have vines there. Philippe Foreau concerns himself more with the age of his vines than with individual terroirs. The harvest is carried out by hand in tries, which divide the crop into sec, demi-sec and moelleux portions and select out botrytised and passerillé fruit, and yields are typically around 35 hl/ha. As of 2022 the domaine had moved to certified organic viticulture.

• 11.5 hectares; three-quarters of the vines on the première côte.
• Les Perruches is the source of much of the domaine's fruit.
• Hand harvest in tries; yields typically around 35 hl/ha.
• Certified organic viticulture (as of 2022).

The cellars sit across the road from the Foreau residence and extend deep into the rock beneath the vines of Le Mont, their galleries hewn by hand from the Turonian limestone of Vouvray's première côte. Armand cut the deeper galleries, André extended them, and Philippe extended them again in response to the voluminous 1986 vintage. The temperature holds steady at 12°C, and there is no active ventilation, only a single chimney through the four metres of rock overhead. A second cave is dedicated to sparkling wine, with the bottles stored in pupitres and the remuage carried out by hand. The fruit is picked by hand and pressed in pneumatic presses; the Foreau family was the first in the appellation to buy a pneumatic press, in 1976. The juice ferments in 300-litre barrels with indigenous yeasts only. There is no chaptalisation, no tangible use of new oak, minimal use of sulphur dioxide and no malolactic fermentation, which the low cellar temperatures largely discourage. The wine is not worked on its lees and is usually blended and bottled in April or May of the year after the vintage.

• Hand-hewn cellars in Turonian limestone, steady at 12°C; a separate cave for sparkling wine with hand remuage.
• First pneumatic press in the appellation, bought in 1976.
• 300-litre barrels, indigenous yeasts, no chaptalisation, no malolactic fermentation, minimal sulphur dioxide.
• Bottled usually in April or May of the year after the vintage.

The range is defined by residual sugar, not by parcel of origin. Philippe Foreau names five cuvées: sparkling, Sec, Demi-Sec, Moelleux and Moelleux Réserve. A sixth, the Goutte d'Or, is a very rare wine made in small quantities, and the Réserve Première Trie was a one-off. All five core cuvées are made in only some years, with 1995, 2005 and 2009 as examples. Sparkling wine takes fruit from younger vines and fruit with a potential alcohol below 12%, so its share varies with the vintage: about one-third of output in general, but 50% in 2004. The Brut Réserve is a late-disgorged version of the Brut. The Sec generally comes from fruit picked at 12 to 13.5 degrees potential alcohol, with residual sugar typically around 3 g/l and under 5 g/l. The Moelleux relies more on passerillage and the Moelleux Réserve on botrytis. The Goutte d'Or was made in 1990 and again in 2011, the first in 21 years. The 2019 Sec is 100% Chenin Blanc at 12.5% alcohol.

• Core cuvées: sparkling (Brut and the late-disgorged Brut Réserve), Sec, Demi-Sec, Moelleux and Moelleux Réserve.
• Sec: picked at 12 to 13.5 degrees potential alcohol; residual sugar typically around 3 g/l.
• Moelleux leans on passerillage; Moelleux Réserve on botrytis.
• Goutte d'Or: made in 1990 and 2011.

Chris Kissack of The Wine Doctor calls Clos Naudin 'arguably the flagship domaine for the Vouvray appellation' and describes its wines as 'a very pure style, defined by poise and a frame of acidity.' Of the Sec, Philippe Foreau has said: 'There is no sec-tendre here.' He has also said: 'No other white wine in France has the capability to age like Vouvray.' Decanter has reported that he sees more demand for dry styles from restaurants, while home drinkers buy across the board.

The Wine Doctor (Chris Kissack), profile of Domaine du Clos Naudin: https://www.thewinedoctor.com/loire/philippeforeau_2.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/loire/philippeforeau_3.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/loire/philippeforeau_4.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/loire/philippeforeau_5.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/loire/philippeforeau_6.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/loire/philippeforeau_7.shtml. The Wine Doctor tasting reports: https://www.thewinedoctor.com/weekend/philippeforeau_vouvraysec_2014.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/weekend/philippeforeau_vouvraybrut_2012.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/weekend/closnaudin_vouvraysec_2020.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/weekend/philippeforeau_vouvraysec_2016.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/weekend/philippeforeau_vouvraybrutreserve_2007.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/tastingsformal/philippeforeau2019.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/weekend/philippeforeau_vouvraymoelleux_1990.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/tastingsformal/aubuisieres2024.shtml. Decanter: https://www.decanter.com/premium/sweetness-in-wine-402201/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/france/loire/domaine-du-clos-naudin-sec-vouvray-loire-france-2019-59653. Last verified 2026-10-14.