Luscious, long-lived whites from the Loire Valley
'Sustainable farming and a focus on old-vine Chenin sites informs these remarkable whites.'
- Antonio Galloni, 'Lockdown Special', vinous.com, October 2020
Domaine Chidaine is a brilliant example of the kind of small-scale, sensitive and sustainable winemaking we're so fond of at Uncorked. With his steadfast and consistent focus on cultivating and crafting wines in harmony with the natural environment, Francois Chidaine has helped to bring Montlouis-sur-Loire out of relative obscurity. He has earned himself a global reputation for producing top quality Chenin Blanc that stands alongside some of the best the Loire Valley has to offer. Francois has vineyards across several AOCs in the Loire region, but most can be found in Montlouis-sur-Loire, a small appellation somewhat overshadowed by big brother Vouvray on the other side of the river.
In Montlouis, on a plateau upstream of Tours at the confluence of the Loire and Cher, the vines sit atop soft, limestone-rich soils, known locally as 'tuffeaux'. As appellation rules stipulate, the vineyards are planted exclusively to Chenin Blanc (aka Pineau de la Loire), and the Chidaine vines are between 40 and 80 years old. In a shift away from his father's more conventional approach, from the late 1980s Francois began to steer the domaine towards organic and biodynamic practices and gained full certification from Biodyvin in 2003. As is to be expected given his fierce commitment to biodynamics and rejection of any kind of chemical protectants, yields are very low and grapes are always harvested manually by Francois himself, with help from his wife Manuela and their small team.
The Chidaine Montlouis wines range in sweetness from 'sec' to 'liquoreux', but today's offer comprises two dry styles. Les Bournais is a 4-hectare vineyard that overlooks the Loire river and its fruit produces site-specific cuvees at the top end of Francois's range. Les Choisilles is made from an assemblage of fruit from across the domaine, its name referring to the black flint found in the soils here. Both wines offer vibrant orchard fruit, limestone minerality and a pleasingly creamy texture from the eleven months of barrel ageing on the lees. In their youth the wines are refreshing and extremely versatile, but they are built to last and will develop a rich, honeyed complexity as they age. /RRS
Offered subject to confirmation; available imminently