Chenin, Cab Franc and Pineau D'Aunis: New Arrivals and Returning Favorites!
9/24/2024
Today's email features new arrivals and returning favorites from the Loire Valley, including essential wines from Domaine Bellivière, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups, François Chidaine, Domaine aux Moines, Le Rocher des Violettes, Domaine Pinon, Chateau de Coulaine, Bernard Baudry and Domaine de la Chevalerie…
All this Loireness was inspired by the last few cases of the sensational 2020 Coteaux du Loir "Vieilles Vignes Éparses" from Domaine Bellivière! This is one of the greatest Chenins of the Loire (and the world) but is somewhat overlooked due to it's rarity, and it's location (Coteaux du Loir?) in the middle of nowhere roughly halfway between Tours and Le Mans. We [David Lillie and Joe Dressner] first tasted with Eric and Christine Nicolas of Belliviere at the Dive Bouteille (1999?) in a cellar of Pierre and Catherine Breton - we were astonished with the crystalline purity and unique character of the Belliviere Chenins and the estate has continued to improve, experiment and grow, with son Clement now more or less in charge. As our English friend Chris Kissack says in The Wine Doctor: "the wines, made in a very hands-off manner, are beacons of purity and definition, and in terms of significance of style they easily rank alongside those of Richard Leroy and Mark Angeli, if indeed they are not superior."
Drink this beautiful wine over the next 20 years, we have 27 bottles...
Having taken over the failed project of a rich Bordelais, we were a bit hesitant to welcome the wines of Jacky Blot of Domaine de la Taille aux Loups and his different ideas regarding fermentation and elevage. But time has proven that the great farming at this estate and the meticulous winemaking can produce beautiful wines that are in the top ranks of the Loire. After Jacky's sudden passing in 2023, son Jean-Philippe is in charge and is doing excellent work at this important domaine.
"The Taille aux Loups wines "...including the not-anymore Vouvray, are bone-dry, less fruity than complex and austere. He believes sugar blurs chenin’s ability to transparently reveal its best qualities, which is why his winemaking is almost fanatically Burgundian, although he prefers to describe it as “the school of Montlouis.” He ferments all his whites in barrels. And rather than a cold, quick fermentation meant to highlight aromas, he borrows from Burgundy’s elite cadre, winemakers like Jean-François Coche (of Coche-Dury) and Jean-Marc Roulot (of Domaine Roulot): he exposes the grape must to oxygen before a long, slow fermentation and leaves the finished wine in steel tanks for months before bottling, which firms up the texture." - thanks to our friend Jon Bonné.
Also newly arrived is the superb 2022 "Clos du Breuil" Montlouis Sec from François Chidaine, always one of our very favorite Loire Chenins. One of the first estates in France to really focus on the life of the soil, the Chidaines produce amazingly vibrant and mineral wines - the 2022 Clos du Breuil is perfectly balanced even in this warm vintage. "Our 2022 vintage reveals a charming side without excess maturity, with delicacy and elegance. Phew! Finally nature rewards us for our hard work!” - Francois Chidaine.
Another new discovery is the delicious 2022 Le Rocher des Violettes Vin de France Chenin, from a small parcel of 80 year-old vines in "Les Borderies" on windblown sand over limestone, formerly in the Montlouis AOC, declassified as Touraine or Vin de France. This lovely old-vine Chenin was vinified and bottled with minimal SO2 added which contributes to its purity and complexity.
Moving on to the reds, we have to mention the always subtle and superb 2022 "Le Rouge Gorge" by Domaine Belliviere, 100% Pineau D'Aunis, which delights with it's purity and light-bodied intensity and ages beautifully as well. In a slightly riper but very elegant style, we also love the 2022 Domaine de la Roche Bleue "Belle D'Aunis," with it's lovely perfumed aromas of pomegranate, red currant and ripe raspberry....yum!
The biodynamic Chateau de Coulaine in Chinon makes one of our favorite Cabernet Francs from the superb Les Picasses vineyard, in a quite different style than that of our friends at Domaine Olga Raffault. The 2020 is a quite dense and powerful Chinon showing a dark red/black color with beautiful aromas of ripe strawberry and black-raspberry with earth, citrus and spice, really deep and pretty…
It has come to our attention that some of you do not have enough Chinon from Domaine Baudry in your cellar, or your fridge. Here are some new notes just published by the most reliable Loire writer, Chris Kissack:
2023 Chinon Rosé (still available!) "The nose is all strawberry, raspberry and peach, very fresh and pure. A rather plump and pretty palate follows, floral and fresh, with lovely acids, and a lick of tannin too. Bright and zippy, an absolute charmer, rich in expressive fruit. The only problem you are likely to have is tracking some down." (Enjoy over the next 2 - 3 years)
2022 Chinon Domaine: "When I tasted this last year it really blew me away with its exuberant 2022 character, so I was taken aback by the surprisingly traditional aromatic profile it now displays, with ripe red cherry, dried rose petal and liquorice. The palate follows the 2022 blueprint a little more closely though, seducing with the voluptuous character of the vintage, polished and round, generous but in possession of a good grip underneath it all."
2022 Chinon "Les Grézeaux: "The 2022 Les Grézeaux opens with a surprisingly restrained nose filled with the scents of red cherry, peony and candied redcurrant, nuanced with richer notes of dark chocolate and toast. The palate feels overtly structured but also textured, voluptuous – as you should expect in the 2022 vintage – but also grained with a dry tannic structure which keeps the texture under control. Lots of grip here, lots of acid freshness as well, in what is a bold style. A massive grip at the end too. This is one for the cellar, and Matthieu agrees – he predicts it will drink well for 20 years."
We opened a 2010 to compare - drinking beautifully now, wonderful aromas a bit secondary, ripe complex earthy fruit on the palate, still structured and with firm acidity, drink until 2030.
