Wines made from the grape variety Chenin Blanc are by far my favourite of the local wines. That means Vouvray or Montlouis AOC primarily.
Chenin blanc maturing in barrels in a troglodyte cave.
It is the 16th most planted vine variety in France, covering 10 500 hectares, and producing 69 million bottles in the Loire Valley. Chenin blanc can be dry (26% of production in the Loire Valley), sweet (11% of production) or sparkling (63% of production). Worldwide, France produces 28% of the chenin blanc, Australia 2%, South Africa 53%, Argentina 7% and the United States 9%.
Chenin blanc is grown along the Loire River from Blois to Nantes, and also along the Loir west from Vendome. It is a grape variety with quite a long vegetative cycle. Bud burst is early, which exposes them to spring frosts, and at the other end of the season, grape maturity is late, which means that the weather is really influential on the quality and quantity of the harvest. It is a grape that doesn't thrive with too much cold or too much heat, and has a tendency to stay a bit acidic. Luckily the temperate evenness of the Loire Valley climate, suits it perfectly.
South Africans tasting chenin blanc in France.
Chenin blanc makes complex mineral wines that keep well. The wines have an elegant acid brightness. The aromas are equally complex, and require a bit of time to develop. You could smell Robinia, hawthorn, linden, quince, plum, pear, citrus, tropical fruits, honey or beeswax.
Chenin blanc is a variety which can develop noble rot (botrytis) which the winemakers can use to their advantage. It gives the wine flavours of preserved or roasted fruits, and makes it go an amber colour. It is a sweet wine with the typical acid finish of chenin blanc.
Chenin blanc fermenting in barrels in a troglodyte cave in Rochecorbon.
The variety's origines are unclear but its first appearance in the records, as 'plant d'Anjou' comes from a document from Charles the Bald in 845 to the Abbey of Saint Maur de Glanfeuil (west Gennes in Maine et Loire). It has had several names over the centuries and the records can be quite difficult to follow. Nowadays it is found globally, and especially in South Africa. It was brought there by Huguenots in exile after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Some of the Huguenots were winemakers, and their Dutch colonial hosts requested they bring vines. It is known as steen, and makes up 20% of South Africa's vineyards.
Chenin blanc is THE emblematic variety of the Loire Valley and 90% of the grape in France is planted in Anjou-Saumur and Touraine. Its great versatility allows the production of sparkling, dry whites and sweet and dessert wines.
Tasting a range of chenin blanc wines in Vouvray.
Further reading: https://www.fandechenin.com/en
1 comment:
"You could smell Robinia, hawthorn, linden, quince, plum, pear, citrus, tropical fruits, honey or beeswax.".... tosh!
It smells divine, looks good in the glass, has a wonderful mouthfeel and tastes thunderingly wonderous, especially Gaudrelle and others bubbly Vouvray.... as for discovering the smell of robinia, hawthorn, linden, quince, plum, pear, citrus, tropical fruits, honey or beeswax.... that is entirely dependant upon the person sniffing.... everybody smells things differently... most of Gaudrelle's wines have a vanilla note for me and that's it!
Go to Chedigny when all the rose dealers are there... Pauline and I discovered that there were scented roses that we both could smell, ones that one or the other could and ones that to the pair of us had no discernable honk whatsoever...!!!
Beers are the same, and cider... you read taste notes for some beers that leave you wondering what the person writing them was drinking, because what you have in the glass doesn't resemble them at all! And cider is even more complex.... a lot of the French commercial ciders at 2% to 4.5% ABV have great complexity...whereas UK commercial ciders are, in the main at 6% and above, far too strong to really taste anything and are just falling over water!
And I'll not start on whisky tasting!!
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