In South Africa, Chenin Blanc, also known as Steen, is the most widely grown grape variety. In this country, Chenin wines are rather unknown and if, then they come mostly as a commodity on the supermarket shelf: A little fruit, a little acid, a good white wine, which scares no one. If you know Chenin Blanc that way, you do not even know it.
To understand what the grape is capable of, one must turn to the specialist. There are some of them on the Loire in France with their great soils. In the 70,000 hectares of cultivation area there are even two handful of smaller protected areas of origin, in which only Chenin is permitted.
Domaine du Clos Naudin, the institution
One of them is the appellation Vouvray, named after the town of the same name near Tours. One institution is the Domaine du Clos Naudin . Winemaker Philippe Foreau exclusively grows Chenin Blanc - and gets everything out of the grape variety: sparkling wine, dry, semi-dry and sweet still wine. His wines are fantastic. The bottles slowly rise in his tuff-stoned cellar, artfully stacked on top of each other instead of in the usual metal cages. "That's how beautiful it is", reasons Foreau the extra effort.
Foreau's 2013 "Classique" sparkling wine, which had been on the yeast for four years, smells like bread, but refreshes the palate with citrus fruit and vibrates with minerality.
In the still wines like the dry 2010 Chenin Blanc with iodine notes. The acid is super integrated, the wine has a wonderfully full-bodied mouthfeel and a long mineral reverberation. In contrast, the 2016 comes across very juicy, with aromas of white fruits and pressure on the palate and a hint of saltiness.
The 2008 Chenin semi-dry you notice the significant residual sugar barely. It smells of iodine and smoke, on the palate it is soft and deep and gives hints of bacon and dried fruit.
Kisses from Vouvray
Also located in Vouvray is the Domaine Huet . Again, one knows the white giant Chenin to elicit his secret. The dry 2017er Le Mont, for example, flows with a pleasant melt over the tongue, fine citrus notes and spice shape its character. A subtle aromas with floral notes and spicy notes shows the half-dry Le Haut-Lieu from the same year. The semi-dry Le Clos du Bourg , also in 2017, shows tremendous power, which is balanced by fresh exotic fruits.
Appellation Montlouis
The appellation Montlouis also relies entirely on Chenin Blanc. The very dry 2016 Les Bournais from the winery François Chidaine makes you crave for the first sip with its scent of caramel and apricot jam. On the palate, this is prolonged by fruity notes of stone fruit and pomelo. The wine is wonderfully round, but remains in shape at all times due to sufficient acidity and even some tannin. The 2009 sweet wine (Moelleux) Les Lys flatters by raisin sweet flavors that find their counterpoint in a fantastic mineral game.
The extraordinary from Saumur-Champigny
Even in the red-wine-sourced area of origin Saumur-Champigny one or the other Chenin Blanc can be found with depth. For example, at the Domaine des Roches Neuves , which is often synonymous with the name of the winegrower: Thierry Germain. During tastings in the winery you get the red in front of the whites poured. This is so common in the area. Because of weak Chenin Blanc!
L'Insolite , the extraordinary, is one of Thierry's white wines. Aromas of pear characterize the dry 2017, but there is also chalk. A very well-structured, slim-mineral white wine. The Clos Romans from the same year of harvest, which displays a little apple, grapefruit, lime and hints of herbal tea, but above all is characterized by its mineral severity, hovers a good deal above it.
Excellence in Cravant-les-Côteaux
At the Domaine Lambert in Cravant-les-Côteaux, in the Chinon appellation, there is also excellent Chenin Blanc. Pascal Lambert is ore biodynamic. Less is with him more and more when it comes to intervention in vine and wine. For bottling, for example, he raises the barrel with the tractor in order to do without pumps. Whatever it is at the end, its wines convince.
The dry 2015 Rochette is reminiscent of Sherry: Nutty notes and iodine as well as a slight saltiness characterize this wine. While the still dry 2015 Antoine feels stuffy and shows exotic aromas of mango and pineapple, the Chesnais scores from the same year by its rich contrast of wet stone and bacon. Curved, however, there are complementary fruity aromas of melon and peach, as well as citrus fruits on the palate.
In Germany, these niche products are hardly ever actively offered. But those who are looking for them will definitely broaden their horizons!
Wine is always intertwined with people and their stories. To tell some of them, the author has set himself the task. Read on his blog Weinsprech.
