Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos de Mosny Monopole is a clay-flint-based parcel, and you can see that in its focus and line. There's flinty, smoky, salty reduction going on here, but it's well-judged and lends an extra layer of complexity, as well as providing additional tension. Excellent precision defines the mid-palate, but there's still a generosity and softness that lends charm with structure. Long and classy, it’s amazing that such a warm vintage can provide such togetherness and balance.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
On the south bank of the Loire River, below Vouvray, Montlouis produces all styles of Chenin blanc from bone dry, off-dry, sweet, oak aged and even the sparkling Montlouis Mousseux and Montlouis Pétillant Naturel. Soils here are lighter and sandier compared to Vouvray.