FRANÇOIS CHIDAINE
Montlouis-sur-Loire, France
Considering the larger-than-life impact Domaine François Chidaine has had on Montlouis-sur-Loire and indeed the landscape of Loire wine itself, it is easy to forget that the venture is relatively young - a second-generation affair. That's because there are few producers worldwide who are more emblematic of their appellation - in an oenological blink-of-an-eye, François Chidaine has become synonymous with Montlouis. There is something truly spiritual about his connection to his Chenin Blanc vines and a soulfulness to his wines both rare and precious.
François started with just a few hectares back in 1989, his wife Manuela joining a decade later to help manage the property. Now with 45 hectares to their name, the domain is perched east of the city of Tours where the Cher meets the Loire, the two rivers cradling the appellation of Montlouis between them. Ten of those hectares lie north of the Loire, in Vouvray, 22 are in the heart of Montlouis, and the remainder spread across greater Touraine. The 32 hectares planted to Chenin (Montlouis and Vouvray) are meticulously split into over 50 distinct plots - the concept of terroir is fully extrapolated in these holding: each unique soil type honored; every micro-climate respected. The wines from Vouvray must be labelled Vin de France as the winery and cellar reside on the south side of the Loire, a point of legal contention with the appellation best left unbroached in Monsieur Chidaine's presence.
Bureaucracy aside, these wines both north and south of the river are always compelling. As François puts it, "Generally speaking, Vouvray is more powerful, but the clay-limestone provides greater generosity on the palate so the wines can be accessible earlier. Montlouis is more reserved, finer and stricter in youth, but both have a similar ageing potential providing the winemaking techniques assist." These generalities have remained true as the climate has warmed, a bittersweet exchange that François says has thus far benefited quality but threatens the future of the category.
François has long been a leader in organic viticultural, certifying in 1992, far ahead of the trend, then exploring and achieving biodynamic certification by 1999. The most important element of his approach to viticulture, however, is his firm no-tilling stance - most uncommon even amongst the ranks of low intervention farmers. His belief is that the practice of ploughing disrupts the soil, most particularly the infinitely complex network of fungi beneath the topsoil that connect vines across long distances - the thinking is that severing these connections limits the transfer of elements and compounds between vines: water, carbon, nitrogen, etc. Allowing these links to grow and flourish improves the vitality of vineyards, like neurons firing in the brain.
The vineyard is intentionally cultivated to mimic nature, albeit with a touch more order: a method known as 'regenerative agriculture.' Herein, the rate at which carbon dioxide is converted into plant and soil matter is improved - actively rejuvenating the land, not simply drawing off it. Permanent cover crops are encouraged between the vines, biodiversity enriched, and vines assimilated into their surroundings rather than dominating them.
François' regard for natural order does not stop at the cellar door. In fermenting his Chenin, wild yeasts are used across the board. Alcoholic fermentation is slow and methodical, lasting the entire winter, carried out in both barrels and demi-muids. His cellar, carved out of the chalky tuffe shores of the river as is custom, is cold and still: conditions for steady, protracted cuvaison. If malolactic fermentation occurs, it does so naturally; it is not something François actively encourages, but he allows it if that is the route the wine chooses. Most of the wines are aged sur lie prior to bottling.
As is tradition, Chidaine produces the full range of sweetness, from sec to moelleux, and each bottling expresses the pure majesty of Loire Valley Chenin in exquisite relief: like different lenses through the same gifted photographer's camera eye. From youthful exuberance to taut minerality, luscious fruit to seductive richness, the colors and complexity he can express through the medium of a single grape are truly a marvel, but his Sauvignon Blanc as well as his red and white wines are great in their own right.
Wines
Chidaine Montlouis Methode Traditionelle Brut conventional
Chidaine Montlouis Methode Traditionelle Brut organic
Chidaine Montlouis ‘Clos du Breuil’ (dry) organic
Chidaine Montlouis ‘Les Choisilles’ (dry) organic
Chidaine Montlouis ‘Les Bournais’ (dry, richer) organic
Chidaine Montlouis ‘Clos Habert’ (demi-sec) organic
Chidaine Montlouis ‘Les Tuffeaux’ (demi-sec) organic
Chidaine Montlouis Moelleux (sweet) organic
Chidaine Montlouis ‘Les Lys’ (sweet) organic
Chidaine Vin de France (Vouvray) Pétillant Brut non-dosé
Chidaine Vin de France (Vouvray) ‘Les Argiles’ (dry) organic
Chidaine Vin de France (Vouvray) ‘Clos Baudoin’ (dry) organic
Chidaine Vin de France (Vouvray) ‘Le Bouchet’ (demi-sec) organic
Chidaine Vin de France (Vouvray) Moelleux (sweet) organic
Chidaine Touraine Sauvignon Blanc
Chidaine Touraine Rouge (Cabernet Franc, Côt (Malbec) & Pineau d'Aunis)
Chidaine Touraine Rose Pinot Noir/Grolleau