Winemaker Notes
From very old vines in Montlouis, this Chenin Blanc is incredibly complex, showing aromas and flavors of preserved Meyer lemon, white flowers, citrus rind, Anjou pear, and crushed rocks. Everything here is perfectly in balance, with a gorgeous lift to its mineral structural core. A long juicy finish rounds out this textural wonder
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Entices with warm apple, floral highlights and pastry notes, all grounded by a bedrock of flinty minerality and lashes of salty brine. Shows a lot of stuffing, though very angular and firm through the persistent finish, which is flecked with toasted brioche and driven by mouthwatering acidity.
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.