Chenin. Again.
If you follow along with some of what we do, you might notice we love Chenin Blanc at the shop. In fact exactly a year ago Kathryn wrote an article about our obsession with the varietal. Clearly this time of year we are craving the weighty deliciousness associated with this varietal. This piece though is to draw attention to the insane versatility that Chenin brings to the sugar conversation. Most grapes can be vinified into sweet or drier style wines with a wide array of options on the how to do it. Few grapes though can be made into dry, semi-dry, sweet, and dessert styles. The two grapes that can do it and well are Chenin Blanc and Riesling. Weirdly these are two of my favorite grapes in existence so maybe I am just in love with the versatility.
It is not something we discuss often but up until genetic testing in the vineyards, we were in the dark as to where grapes came from. Chenin is a great example because the two parent grapes were not identified until the last decade. Savagnin (one of the best varietals in Jura) was identified as one, and Sauvignon Verte the other only in 2015. This question now should bring another question to your mind; Why in the world is this important? The short answer is that much like our own children, grapes take qualities from each parent which can result into a better grape all around or not. Chenin it seems got the best of both it's parent grapes which resulted in the aromatic, texturally large, and bright acid varietal it is. Bringing this back around to sweetness, this is a large part of why Chenin Blanc can be made into a completely dry wine but still retain so much mouthfeel and texture. Now on the sweet side Chenin is made into Moelleux, Botrytized, and late harvest styles because it has an amazing amount of acidity in the grape to balance out the intense sugar (some of these styles can pop over 120 grams residual sugar per liter). No where is that more apparent than in the Loire Valley.
Our love for the Loire Valley is strong and it is truly my belief that this is the most diverse and dynamic wine region in France. Chenin Blanc starts its party on the western side of the valley; in a small town named Savennières. This commune has been producing wine on a commercial level for the last 200 years. They are known for producing some of the most age-worthy Chenin Blancs but produce wines that are almost completely bone dry. Domaine du Closel "Les Caillardières" 2016 is one of the few wines that we receive from the region. This unctuous wine is full of tart pears and vibrant acidity. Perfect with a fish plucked fresh from the Loire River or a roast chicken, this wine can also sit for the next 20 years till you are ready for it. Chenin's home territory though is due east in a town named Vouvray (You can find examples of great Chenin Blanc on many of the communes between these two). Vouvray is where ripeness and limestone meet for balance and perfection. Ripeness is due to the south facing hills of the town with great drainage and a warm climate. The limestone soils provide that intense acidity to help balance out the sugar. One of the most classic estates in town is Domaine Huet. We carry a couple of their cuvées normally but Clos de Bourg Moelleux Premier Trie is a truly special bottle that emphasizes my point perfectly. The greatest of Huet's single vineyards this cuvée is rocking around 90 grams of sugar per liter. An immense amount of tropical citrus including bright pineapple, somehow the fruit and sweetness do not overwhelm the acidity. Massively intense, this wine elicits an emotional response in the form of; DAMN this is good. These two incredibly iconic wines are just examples of the huge variety of styles that Chenin can fall into it. Moral of the story : Drink more CHENIN!
If you made it to the end of this article, please congratulate yourself. Also remember to never ask me to describe why I love Chenin; unless you have some copious amounts of free time.
– David