(TEL) The Secret to Finding a Chenin Blanc That's Perfect for Your Taste

[AKR]

The Secret to Finding a Chenin Blanc That's Perfect for Your Taste
2021-06-25 10:35:55.349 GMT


By Victoria Moore, Wine correspondent

(Telegraph) -- In 1988, Jacky Blot and his wife arrived at Montlouis in
France’s Loire Valley and bought their first five hectares of vines. It was
not their first choice of location. “They couldn’t afford a vineyard in
Burgundy,” his son Jean-Philippe told me via Zoom while sat beside his
bushy-moustached father last month. Still, “they thought chenin blanc could be
a great variety too, so they began.”

More than 30 years later, Jacky Blot and Domaine de la Taille aux Loups, his
Montlouis-sur-Loire estate, are hallowed names for those who know and love
wine, though it was not initially obvious that they were destined for
greatness.

“The beginning was difficult because it wasn’t usual in this place to produce
wine like they have done: totally dry white wine, ageing in barrel and single
vineyard wines,” said Jean-Philippe. “Here in Montlouis it was not like this.
You had sweet wines, half-dry ones – totally different.

“And it was difficult to have ripe fruit because 40 years ago the climate
wasn’t warm enough. Little by little they grew, and global warming [came], the
way to drink wine changed, and now I think lot of people want to drink dry
white wine from chenin.”

They do, and they don’t. Chenin blanc’s status has certainly risen over the
past couple of decades but it remains a hugely under-appreciated grape. Not by
me, I have to say – on a warm summer’s evening there is little I enjoy pouring
into my glass more than a dry chenin blanc from the Loire.

At the Jacky Blot level, Loire chenin blanc has a crystalline brightness,
refreshing acidity and nuances of flavour that play across it like glimmering
reflections on moving water: faint quince florals, apples, pears, stones,
honey… It is hard to describe without sounding as if I have totally lost it,
but there is an elemental quality to good Loire chenin blanc: you
have the glacial rush of acidity and then flavours that feel of the air, the
water and the earth.

It is a blissful drinking experience. Do try one: you can find a large range
of Taille aux Loups wines at Justerini & Brooks and the 2019s are looking
great.

Despite all of this, very seldom do I hear anyone say: “I’d love a glass of
chenin.” There are plenty of good reasons for this, starting with the fact
that chenin blanc from the Loire is sold by appellation: as vouvray,
montlouis, savennières.

Those appellations present a thicket of different styles of wines from
sparkling to sweet to medium. Added to the fact that none promote the name of
the grape and the overall effect is to rebuff the casual drinker: it’s just
too tricky to find your way around.

South Africa, chenin blanc’s other main home, has done a lot more to
popularise this grape by name, albeit that there is little halo effect for the
Loire. But in any case, the styles of wine made in each place tend to be so
different that they appeal to different cravings and often to different
palates.

Dry Loire chenin has a verve and an electrifying tingle that appeals to
drinkers who enjoy acidity and raciness. South African chenin usually feels
much rounder and softer, a little more waxy. Its fruity flavours move more
into the yellow and orange spectrum – you often find hints of star fruit,
orange, peach, melon – and its vibe is warmer and more chewy.

If we are talking about everyday drinking wines, to drinkers who enjoy the
refreshing qualities of muscadet, sauvignon blanc, gavi and young chablis, I
would recommend a young Loire chenin blanc like, say, Saumur Les Andides
2019,France (Waitrose has one at £9.99 and is currently running a 25% off deal
if you buy six or more bottles, running to June 29).

It’s not a firm rule as individual wines vary so much, but South African
chenin blanc at this level I often recommend as a middle road for those who
say that they find sauvignon blanc “thin” or “sour” or “acidic” (in a
pejorative sense) and who don’t like sun-drenched, oaky wines that reek of
pineapple either.

South African chenin is a classic pub wine list white (if you’re in a pub with
a good wine list) because it’s refreshing enough to please people like me who
eat raw lemons for fun and not too sharp for others. I’ve recommended one in
wines of the week below but also want to flag an absolutely superb blend of
chenin blanc, chardonnay and viognier called AA Badenhorst The Curator 2020,
South Africa (Waitrose, £8.99).

I put this in my top summer wines article a couple of weeks ago so this is a
reminder for those of you who liked it that you can now buy it through
Waitrose’s 25% off when you buy six-plus bottles deal. Availability is limited
so – go!

At the more premium end of things, if we’re talking about wines at around £15
and upwards, what is obvious is that chenin blanc is very good at conveying a
sense of place. In the Loire, a wine from Savennières tastes very different to
one from Vouvray (more earthy and autumnal).

And in South Africa? With his wife Suzaan, Chris Alheit makes some of the
country’s most sought-after chenin blanc. Alheit says his goal has been “to
make very South African wine, with a clearly South African identity” and he
does it to great acclaim using chenin blanc from old vineyards to create
“snapshots” of different locations in any given vintage.

They are textural and layered, with subtle flavours that rise and fall through
them as themes through a piece of music; just like the Jacky Blot wines they
are hard to define if you try to do so by reaching for “flavour” words. Which
is much to chenin’s credit and, perhaps, another reason why the grape isn’t
more lauded for its own taste: it has far more than that to offer.

Wines of the week

Bouvet-Ladubay Brut NV

Saumur, France (12.5%, Majestic, £13.99 or £9.99 if you buy a mix o f six
bottles or more)

In the Loire, chenin blanc is also used to make sparkling wine. This one makes
for an excellent value fizz – way better than a prosecco at a comparable price
and perfect for sipping in the garden over the summer.

Mullineux Great Heart Chenin Blanc 2020

Swartland, South Africa (13%, Waitrose, £14.99 or £11.25 if you buy six-plus
bottles to qualify for the 25% off deal that runs until June 29)

Great Heart is a new staff empowerment project that will see all profits go
directly to employees. It’s a gorgeous wine too, reminiscent of apples, yellow
plums and honeysuckle.

Finest* Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc 2020

South Africa (13.5%, Tesco, £7.50)

Made for Tesco by Stellenrust, this chenin blanc is fermented in a mixture of
stainless steel and oak so that you get some texture but not an overt flavour
of wood. It is reminiscent of sweet red apples and yellow peaches. One to try
with barbecued pork.

[Claudius2]

Arv
I have not had a Loire CB for decades probably as I wasn’t taken with them previously. I did try a few South African Chenins at a Zoom tasting a few months ago and was quite impressed with their balance and length. Prior SA samples I’ve had were okay but hardly memorable. A little bland for a palate trained on White Burgundy. The winemaker said that Chenin is easy to make into a pleasant commercial style but very hard to make into a complex, compelling wine. One sample was from an elevated site not far from the southern coast and it was very favourably received by the audience, including me. The warmer site wine was pleasant and pretty good but much more like the typical SA style with roundness and some intensity but I always want minerality in whites.

Anyway it seems that Chenin can excellent wines but it needs everything to be right (site, weather etc) to really shine.
Cheers
Mark

[AKR]

The only wines I sort of repeat buy are Champalou's Vouvray and Baumard's Savennieres, and if it shows up with any consistency, Aubaussieres (sp?) Vouvray. There is a grassy, straw like tone to most other ones I've tried that isn't to my taste so I don't go prowling around the Loire chenin much either.

[Claret]

Champalou's Vouvray and Baumard's Savennieres, two good ones.