Francois Chidaine, Montlouis-sur-Loire, Les Bournais

Good now. Needs some hours of air to really show. Recommend at least 2-3 more years of cellaring.

Dollar-for-dollar, Francois Chidaine's lineup is one of the single greatest sources of white wine from France, and today we have the brightest star from his stable of excellent 2022 releases that lands in stock next week. "Few doubt that the renaissance of Montlouis-sur-Loire owes much to Chidaine. His wines—defined by purity, energy, structure and crystalline precision—have elevated the appellation’s reputation and shaped its identity...Today, Domaine François Chidaine stands as one of the Loire Valley’s benchmarks, a vital reference point for …

89-90

Light yellow colour. Nose is rich and fruity, mineral, with notes of white peaches, pear, lime and a touch of honey. Mouthfeel is dry, fruity, rich and generous, quite full bodied, elegant and complex, with nice minerality, good acidity and notes of white peaches, pears, wet gravel and a touch of honey and wool. This is a truly excellent chenin blanc from Montlouis, rich in character, drinks very well already and will do so for the next twenty years or …

Color is medium straw/gold. On the nose: Honey, tropical fruits, apples and lots is minerals. On the palate: Pineapple/tropical fruits, minerals, apple, honey and citrus pulp. Outstanding wine. Really nice balance and length. Worth seeking out. Would like to try with some age.

Medium gold, teetering into deep. Medium high viscosity. Pronounced aromatics on the nose, with apparent botrytis influence as well. Orange peel, dried pineapple, bruised apricot, honey, wax, cinnamon, hazelnuts, Chinese five spice. On the palate, it's rich, textural with noticable residual sugar, but its balanced with searing acidity. Long finish. Reminds me of demi-sec vouvray, but with slightly less sugar. Definitely quite different from Chidaine's Les Argiles and Clos du Breuil, which are much more mineral driven and steely. It's …

Honeyed yellow fruits, lots of fresh herbs, and wool. Weighty, soft, and round, almost unctuos. Moderate acidity, but it does not feel heavy thanks to the herbal elements. Mineral and herbal finish. Drink now - 2032, likely to improve with a couple of years of cellaring. 92+ points.

Close to full body. Quince, lemon and some tropical fruit. Oily texture.

This was dense, weighty, and a bit more leesy than I remember. Waxy with lanolin, green to gold apple flesh, with honey, and lots of grassy notes on the lengthy finish. Probably remains my favorite in the Chidaine lineup and should age very well, IMO

Very nice - I'm grilling up some scallops tonight, and this should be a nice match. When they are on, Chidaine makes some of my favorite whites because they are delicious but also quite complex/cerebral. Based upon my comments about my last bottle, this wine seems more balanced and less ripe and rich. Unfortunately, my last bottle, as off tonight's showing, I wouldn't mind having a couple more of these in the cellar.

Decanted a portion and it opened over an hour. Vacuvin’d the rest and by day 2 it opened within 15 min. Medium gold-yellow color. 👃🏻 initial banana and wax pre-decant became melon and grapefruit rind with hints of pineapple 👅 melon, grapefruit, quince, pineapple. Both stony minerality with big fruit and 40+ sec finish and superb balance. Beautifully made and very similar to Les Choiselles, I’d have to say these are my favorite whites currently.

I see a couple other tasters have used words like rich, bold and dense to describe this wine and I can see that. The wine is balanced, but pushing close to an over-the-top style, and I will probably look to drink my remaining bottles sooner as opposed to later.

Un superbe Chenin blanc avec un très bel équilibre. C’est à la fois léger et complexe. J’aurais quand même tendance à le qualifier de vin de repas avec beaucoup de matière.

Among the more richly textured and dense wines in the Chidaine range, this one manages to express a lot of delicacy as well. delicious over two days with a variety of foods, I’m happy to hold a few. Will it age well? Sure, but mine won’t be around to find out.

Straw to golden color, high viscosity and certain "waxiness" in its appearance. Very aromatic nose with ripe stone fruit, pear, apples and slight spicy hints and also some odd but pleasant booziness. Palate is full bodied, fresh from medium plus acidity that somewhat balances the ripe fruit underneath it. Its more fruit forward than minerally with ripe bosc pears, peaches and green apples, but there is some chalky minerality too. Finishes long and somewhat complex with a distinct ginger-like spiciness …

100% biodynamically farmed Chenin Blanc from a 4-hectare parcel in Montlouis-sur-Loire where the vine age ranges from 5 to 20 years. Fermented spontaneously, aged for approximately a year on the lees in 600-liter demi-muids. No MLF. 14,5% alcohol. Youthful, medium-deep yellow-green color. Juicy, zesty and moderately sweet-toned nose with aromas of ripe lemony citrus fruits, some stony minerality, a little bit of honeydew melon and youthful pear character, light waxy notes, floral hints of apple blossom and honeysuckle, a saline …

Clear yellow colour. Somewhat closed mineral nose with notes of white peaches, citrus, wet gravel, oyster shells, white flowers and just a touch of honey. Mouthfeel is dry, quite tight, very concentrated but in no sense plump, great acidity and notes of lemon curd, white peaches, apple and wet gravel in a long, mineral finish. This shows very concentrated fruit all balanced by refreshing acidity still holding the wine in a tight grip, so will probably benefit from some more …