Winemaker Notes
The appellation of Montlouis is located at the junction of the Loire and Cher Rivers, and spreads across approximately 400 hectares. This wine was sourced from an estate-owned, biodynamically farmed parcel measuring 20 hectares in area. It has 30-90 year old vines which yield an average of 43 hectoliters per hectare.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
There is a lot of wine here, with papaya, yellow plum and honeysuckle flavors. Shows incredible harmony where hints of richness are overtaken by the minerally edge that emerges midpalate, while the acidity runs through seamlessly, providing support. Fine purity, with great tension between the sweet fruit and nervy backbone. Best from 2022 through 2035. 1,300 cases made, 76 cases imported.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From 30- to 90-year-old vines on clay-silex soils and vinified in 600-liter demi-muids for 11 months, the 2018 Montlouis sur Loire Les Tuffeaux opens with an intense yet delicate bouquet of perfectly ripe and healthy fruits, chalk and some flinty notes along with white honey and nougat scents. Round, intense and concentrated on the palate, with Toblerone and white nougat aromas, this is a very elegant, refined and balanced Chenin with lingering finesse, salinity and fine tannin structure. Pretty intense yet always balanced and juicy. Tasted in March 2021. Rating : 93+
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.
Praised for its stately Renaissance-era chateaux, the picturesque Loire valley produces pleasant wines of just about every style. Just south of Paris, the appellation lies along the river of the same name and stretches from the Atlantic coast to the center of France.
The Loire can be divided into three main growing areas, from west to east: the Lower Loire, Middle Loire, and Upper/Central Loire. The Pay Nantais region of the Lower Loire—farthest west and closest to the Atlantic—has a maritime climate and focuses on the Melon de Bourgogne variety, which makes refreshing, crisp, aromatic whites.
The Middle Loire contains Anjou, Saumur and Touraine. In Anjou, Chenin Blanc produces some of, if not the most, outstanding dry and sweet wines with a sleek, mineral edge and characteristics of crisp apple, pear and honeysuckle. Cabernet Franc dominates red and rosé production here, supported often by Grolleau and Cabernet Sauvignon. Sparkling Crémant de Loire is a specialty of Saumur. Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc are common in Touraine as well, along with Sauvignon Blanc, Gamay and Malbec (known locally as Côt).
The Upper Loire, with a warm, continental climate, is Sauvignon Blanc country, home to the world-renowned appellations of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Pinot Noir and Gamay produce bright, easy-drinking red wines here.