The Jean-Pierre Boistard Vouvray Moelleux 2002 is a sweet Chenin Blanc from Vouvray in the Loire Valley, now more than two decades old and drinking in its mature phase. Sweetness is the starting point rather than the whole story, with the acidity Vouvray is known for keeping the wine lifted rather than heavy.

Quince paste, dried apricot and beeswax lead, with barley sugar, chamomile and a waft of ginger that comes with age on Chenin Blanc. Behind that sits something smoky and mineral, the flinty edge that marks out the wines grown on the tuffeau slopes above Vernou-sur-Brenne, where Boistard has his vineyards and cellars.

Weight on the palate is generous without being cloying, honeyed fruit running into a firm line of acid that cuts straight through the sugar. Texture is glycerol-rich and unctuous mid-palate, then the finish narrows and turns savoury, leaving marmalade skin and wet stone well after the glass is down.

Serve well chilled with a blue cheese board, or a slab of Roquefort on its own. It also works alongside foie gras terrine, roast duck with quince, or a simple almond tart. Chenin of this age handles rich pork and pâté better than most sweet whites.

Drinking beautifully now and holding well. Sound bottles of Vouvray moelleux from 2002 have another decade or more in them if you have the cellar space, though there is no need to wait.