Montlouis-sur-Loire ’Tuffeaux’ Demi-sec -Chenin (18) Chidain

Chenin Blanc | 'les Tuffeaux' | terroir van klei met silex | stokken tussen 30-100 jaar oud | vergisting en rijping voor 11 maanden in 600 liter demi-muids | rond en intens | kweepeer | perzik | witte bloemen | honing | noten | elegant en diep | finesse | sappig en gebalanceerd 

François Chidaine

In '89 opgericht in Montlouis. Één van de voorlopers als het gaan om de gedachte dat de wijn gemaakt wordt in de wijngaard. Al sinds '99 biodynamisch gecertificeerd. Een man die heel precies en puur te werk gaat. Authentieke en artisanale wijnen die zeer geliefd zijn in de wereld van wijnliefhebbers en sommeliers. 

Review

From 30- to 90-year-old vines on clay-silex soils and vinified in 600-liter demi-muids for 11 months, the 2018 Montlouis sur Loire Les Tuffeaux opens with an intense yet delicate bouquet of perfectly ripe and healthy fruits, chalk and some flinty notes along with white honey and nougat scents. Round, intense and concentrated on the palate, with Toblerone and white nougat aromas, this is a very elegant, refined and balanced Chenin with lingering finesse, salinity and fine tannin structure. Pretty intense yet always balanced and juicy. Tasted in March 2021. 93+/100 Stephan Reinhardt

Situated in Husseau, Montlouis, François Chidaine produces characterful, concentrated and complex yet also finessed, terroir-driven Chenin Blancs from Montlouis and, since the 2000s, Vouvray on the north bank of the Loire River as well as Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Grolleau, Cabernet Franc, Côt and Pineau d'Aunis from a little further east in the Cher Valley. In addition to his excellent dry Chenins, the vigneron, who started the domain in 1989, presses highly elegant semi-dry and sweet Chenins that are famous for their exceptional longevity. The domaine has grown step by step in 30 years, and the total acreage is 37 hectares today, which translates to 50 parcels. Thirty of those hectares are dedicated to Chenin Blanc, 20 hectares in Montlouis and 10 hectares in Vouvray. The vines have been cultivated organically since 1992 and biodynamically since 1999. They are rooted sometimes on flinty clay soils and sometimes on clay-limestone soils that give the grapes a wide range of nuances. Since the domaine is located in the Montlouis AOP, where also the grapes from the neighboring Vouvray AOC are processed, Chidaine has to market his "Vouvrays" as Vin de France, which seems to be absurd in a global world and makes Chidaine's face flush with anger when he talks about it. 

The domaine's 20 hectares of the Montlouis-sur-Loire appellation (which is located on a plateau upstream from Tours, where the Loire and Cher Valleys meet) are spread over 30 or so parcels located mainly in Husseau. "The deep roots of the vines seek freshness in our tuffeau subsoil, the typical white chalk of Touraine," wrote François, after we have met in Stuttgart nearly two years ago for the last time. "We take care of our flinty clay soils in which we can find our famous small black flints nicknamed 'choisilles,' which transmit to our wines the elegant minerality that characterizes them."

Chidaine's 10 hectares in Vouvray, which is located on the north bank of the Loire and faces the vineyards of Montlouis, are spread over several small plots. Cultivated on clay-limestone soils, the vines root deep in the tuffeau subsoil and give deep, rich, elegant and saline Chenins of great class and finessed expression. 

After our last meeting, Chidaine summarized the recent vintages of the domaine. 

First, 2018: "Climate change has been plaguing us for almost a decade, and 2018 was no exception. June rains, tropical heat and mildew made it quite difficult at times. Nevertheless, the early harvest went well, and the right balance of these wines is between maturity and freshness."

2017: "Despite our best efforts to protect our vines from frost, we lost 20% of our crop on the night of April 26-27. Same night as 2016! Fortunately, we made the choice to band together with several Montlouis winemakers to have helicopters fly over the vines in the early morning and, with the help of straw bales, they managed to save the majority of the grapes! Spring was relatively stable, despite the famous frost at the end of April, as was the summer. 2017, a complicated but early year. The harvest began on September 11 and ended on October 5."

"The year 2016 did not spare us in our efforts, as the climate was, once again, capricious. The frost of April 27 hit us hard: 90% loss. After a very rainy spring, the summer and after-season were much more favorable, which allowed us to harvest a small, very qualitative crop."