A Celebration of Chenin Blanc

4/18/16 -

Chenin Blanc: "Loire, and South African speciality, making crisp, sometimes long-lived wines with varying degrees of sweetness that deserve more recognition" say the fine folks who produced the excellent book, Wine Grapes.  We might be more lavish in our praise, saying that Chenin Blanc produces some of the world's most distinctive wines, be they dry, off-dry, sweet or sparkling which are among the most profound accompaniments to fine cuisine. The authors of Wine Grapes go on to say that mentions of Chenin Blanc in the 9th century are probably unreliable, the earliest written mention being by Rabelais in 1534, by which time the grape had been planted at the monastery of Montchenin, near Cormery, then "propagated across the Touraine region, and whence it returned to its birthplace in Anjou under its new name, Chenin." Thriving on the metamorphic shists and slates of the Massif Armoricain in Anjou as well as the quite different sedimentary limestones of Touraine, Chenin Blanc produces the great Loire Valley wines of Savennières, Anjou, Coteaux du Layon, Saumur, Chinon, Azay-le-Rideau, Vouvray and Montlouis (and many others) and has been successfully transported to the US and South Africa. The best examples are capable of aging for fifty years and more, as those few who have tasted 1921 Vouvrays can happily attest. In the past, however, the grape was frequently abused by over-cropping, early picking, chaptalization and excessive use of sulfur, but the last twenty years have seen a revolution in farming and winemaking, resulting in a resurgence in quality throughout the Loire Valley, including many young growers whose organic vineyard work and natural vinifications are showing brilliant results.

We're proud to welcome Pascaline Lepeltier, one of the world's great sommeliers and greatest lovers of Chenin Blanc, to Chambers Street Wines on Tuesday April 19th at 5:00pm as we present "Chenin Gym," a tasting of some of our favorite Chenins that will display the different styles of wine and the  varied terroirs of the vineyards. Pascaline will then run up the street to Racines NY where "A Celebration of Chenin Blanc" will feature 18 wines including sparkling, dry, off-dry and sweet from recent and older vintages (1989 Huet Bourg Moelleux 1er Trie and 1990 Coulée de Serrant), accompanied by the superb cuisine of Chef Frédéric Duca