Interpreting Chenin Blanc

BY REBECCA GIBB MW | MARCH 25, 2021

Chenin is one of the most versatile grape varieties making every shade of white; its personality oscillating pendulum-like depending on its site and its winemaker’s intention. From still to sparkling, dry to sweet and everything in between, the range of options available to the Chenin producer is more dizzying than a carousel. Admittedly, there is a growing thirst for drier styles, and the resulting cutback on sweetness shines a spotlight on terroir. However, with an array of soil types in the two main areas specializing in Chenin – Anjou and Touraine – nature provides many idiosyncratic expressions. Add the diversity of human personality to the mix and it’s clear that Chenin has many interpretations. For the average consumer this can make buying a bottle of Loire Chenin fraught with danger, but for the curious winelover this single variety provides layers of intrigue.

Let’s Talk About Secs

It’s clear that the current generation of winemakers nearing retirement age have witnessed a major shift in both the region’s climate and global taste preferences since taking over from their parents in the 1980s. Relatively few want to drink sweeter styles of wine compared to 30 or 40 years ago and the drying of Loire Valley whites is incontestable.  “Sec sells,” says Richard Kelley MW, a UK-based agent for many Loire producers, and local producers back up his assertion. It’s not just the emergence of sec styles (under 4g/L R/S although the sec category allows up to 9g/L if the acid is sufficiently high) but demi-secs (12g/L or up to 18g/L if the acid allows) have become drier and the unofficial sec tendre category has established as a middle ground between sec and demi-sec. The market has made its taste preferences clear and there has been a proliferation of dry offerings across the valley since the turn of the century, picking up pace in the past decade.

Changing tastes have coincided with global warming, which has facilitated this move to drier styles. Speak to any producer in the Loire Valley and the topic of earlier harvests and their consequence on wine styles is sure to crop up. A climate study of the Loire between 1960 and 2010 found that average growing season temperatures near Tours, had increased by 1.7˚C . With higher maximum temperatures, harvest now takes place 16 days earlier compared with the 1960s and most of that change has come about since the late 1980s. Real-life experience suggests that changes have been even greater. Following the untimely passing of his father François in late January, 35-year old Julien Pinon has become the eighth generation to manage the family domaine since its establishment in 1786. Records show that the first six generations of vignerons would harvest the grapes from their estate in Vouvray between October 15 and November 15; it’s now at least a month earlier. In 2020, harvest began at the beginning of September.

The impact of increased warmth, more sun and less water is riper grapes with higher sugars. That means more alcohol, lower acidity and higher pH in wines, so a greater likelihood that malolactic fermentation will occur spontaneously, all of which result in today’s modern style of Chenin Blanc. Contemporary, almost sumptuous expressions that hit the 14% alcohol mark might not be what traditional Chenin lovers crave. However, the rounder, riper styles and the diminution of eyewatering acidity levels don’t cry out for residual sugar to provide balance or mask any green characters, nor do the wines require a decade in bottle to become approachable.