Loire
Chenin: Dividing Lines

BY REBECCA GIBB MW&nbsp;|&nbsp;OCTOBER 19, 2023Black and white stripes are generally reserved
for zebras, but not in the city of Angers. Not only does its soccer team, SCO
Angers, play in a black-and-white-striped kit, but its imposing limestone
fortress, complete with fairy-tale turrets, is laced with black bands of local
schist, creating an idiosyncratic two-tone façade, which exemplifies the two
different rock formations of this area.

The Chenin lands of the Loire are concentrated
around Angers and Saumur, and it is between these two cities that the
metamorphic rocks of the Massif Armoricain meet the white sedimentary hues of
the Parisian Basin. On these black schist and gneiss foundations, referred to
as ‘Anjou Noir’, Chenin Blanc typically displays – using a broad brushstroke –
a sense of power and a certain bitterness. In contrast, Chenin Blanc grown on
the various limestones of, say, Saumur and Vouvray, display greater tenderness
and chalky finesse. But when is wine ever that simple?

Just when you think you are beginning to gain
some confidence in the ground beneath your feet, it turns out to be in even
greater turmoil. I’m in the appellation of Savennières, a 20-minute drive from Angers,
and wherever I go, the term “geological chaos” is bandied around. It’s a phrase
so often cited that I have created my own game of bingo when it is mentioned. It
provides some comfort when vignerons reel off a list of the many other soil
types you’ve never heard of before – phtanite, rhyolite or spilite, for
example. Then there’s topsoil to consider, which can be deep and sandy, making
for lighter styles and a plethora of other combinations. And all this in a tiny
appellation of just 140 hectares (not counting the enclaves within Savennières
that have their own appellation. Roche aux Moines and Coulée de Serrant). It’s
enough to make your head spin.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1697723162460-In+the+heart+of+Anjou+Noir+country+lies+Saint-Aubin+de+Luign%C3%A9%2C+which+is+home+to+Thomas+and+Charlotte+Carsin+and+the+vineyards+of+Terre+de+L%E2%80%99%C3%89lu_copy.jpg">Saint-Aubin de Luigné lies in the heart of&nbsp;Anjou Noir country, which is home to Thomas and Charlotte Carsin and the&nbsp;Terre de L’Élu&nbsp;vineyards.

Chenin Blanc is a variety that can, like the
region’s bedrock, metamorphose, depending on the pressures exerted on it,
whether that’s the viticulture, the winemaking or the weather – of which more
later. Stylistic chaos is as prevalent as geological chaos in Loire Chenin
Blanc. This shy variety is interpreted in many ways, and I’m not just talking
about the level of residual sugar that remains in a finished wine. Many choose
to allow their musts to ferment spontaneously, a practice that’s increasingly
favored among artisanal producers, along with the use of different fermentation
vessels, from oak barrels to foudres and clay amphoras. There’s also a
decision to make over lees – Chenin can easily become reductive if left on lees,
but it is also prone to oxidation, so a careful balance has to be struck.&nbsp;

Back in the vineyard, not only are growers
trying to make picking decisions based on ripeness and flavor, acidity and
phenolics, but they also have to decide whether to wait for the fruit to
botrytize – even if they plan on making a dry wine. It’s a common component in the
Joly family’s wines, but some wine producers don’t like the honeyed, exotic
note that botrytis can give their wines. Moreover, botrytized fruit comes with
additional risks, including premature browning and oxidation, which is caused
by the laccase enzyme and more likely to cause damage when winemaking involves low
or no sulfur and time on lees. Sulfur seems to have become an enemy for an
unreasonably large bunch of Loire Chenin makers – and their ardent supporters.

I have no issue with low-sulfur regimes when
they’re done well. Still, a noisy group of campers in the natural wine field has
decided that the smell of the cows from the neighboring farm should be part of
their vineyard’s expression, as displayed in glasses of cloudy wines. It is
anathema to wine’s entire purpose: beyond intoxication, we drink wine for
pleasure, and it is difficult to find pleasure when it smells like rough cider.
For millennia, wine has been ameliorated because we did not have the know-how
to make wine that would not spoil quickly. Glass bottles, corks, sulfur and
many more scientific advances have allowed drinkers thousands of miles away
from Vouvray or Saumur to enjoy these wines in perfect condition, months, years
or even decades after they were first bottled.

The Anjou, in particular, has been a hotbed of
innovation and experimentation because the cost of land is negligible compared
with the Côte d’Or, and young producers can afford to trial their ideas on
another non-aromatic grape variety in a region that sits on the same latitude
as Dijon (47.3˚N). Plenty of exciting newcomers are growing their grapes
organically and making low-intervention Chenins that are clean, pure and
expressive. At some point, however, clean became a dirty word. It is a positive
attribute that centuries of winemakers would have given their right arm to
achieve. There is no excuse for making wines that lack pleasure and are
technically faulty – we are not living in pre-Pasteur France.&nbsp; 

What’s certain is that fine wines should have
a personality, but that it should not be derived from faults.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1697723227704-Clos+Rougeard+may+be+best+known+for+its+reds+but+its+barrel+fermented+Br%C3%A9z%C3%A9+Blanc%2C+is+one+of+the+standout+whites+in+the+Saumur+appellation_copy.jpg">Clos Rougeard may be best known for its reds, but its barrel fermented Brézé Blanc is one of the standout whites in the Saumur appellation. A Year Is a Long Time in Wine In last year’s report on Chenin, <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/chenin-blanc-wait-a-sec-sep-2022">Wait a Sec</a>,
I discussed the 2021 season and its cool climate personality: light-bodied and
taut with mouthwatering, occasionally eyewatering, acidity. Following a trio of
warm vintages in 2018, 2019 and 2020, leading to some exotic and alcoholic
styles, 2021 provided Loire lovers of yesteryear with a glimmer of hope that
climate change had not yet entirely had its way with our traditional wine
styles.

Yet it was a season most winemakers would like
to forget, including Louis Germain, who returned to join his father running the
family’s winery Domaine des Roches Neuves the previous year. The weather caused
trouble from start to finish: a liberal amount of frost,
leading to miserly yields followed up with plentiful rain and little warmth. Charlotte
Carsin of Terre de L’ Élu
in the Anjou region remembers “going to the beach in gloves in August.” Faced
with such unseasonal conditions, it was no wonder that there was fungal disease
pressure, but it was the last thing growers needed after spring frosts and hail
in parts of the region that had already slashed their yields. A mainly dry
September allowed most to attain ripeness with what crop was left after the
season’s onslaught.

While there are wines that attest
to the difficulties of the season, not to mention the lack of availability, the
best 2021s bristle with energy and concentration. Cool climate purists who
embrace clarity and acidity over ripeness of fruit and generosity will be in
their element. And many of the local winemakers have been surprised that
despite the travails of 2021, they rather like the classical result. Wines from
2021 are still current releases for many of the finest domaines although be
aware that some have yet to move on from their 2020s. Release policies are
producer dependent with Domaine Belargus launching its 2020 vintage before 2019
due to the latter’s rather muscular, forceful personality.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1697723262532-In+Saumur%2C+Clos+de+l%E2%80%99%C3%89cotard+works+organically+and+biodynamically+as+well+as+plowing+by+horse_copy.jpg">In Saumur, Clos de l’Écotard works organically, biodynamically and plows by horse. 

In a similar vein to the producers
of <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/where-art-thou-chablis-chablis-2021-2022-sep-2023">Chablis in
2021 and 2022</a>, as recently discussed by
my colleague Neal Martin, the Chenin growers in the Loire experienced two
vastly differing seasons. In 2022, there was little or no frost damage, leading
to an abundance of fruit on the vine, making growers hopeful of a year that
would replenish the cellars after a pitiful volume the previous year. In
contrast to 2021, which experienced the wettest May, June and July in 60 years,
the summer of 2022 was marked by drought. A record 45 days without rain
(between July 1 and August 15) compounded an already low rainfall year, leaving
the Loire at its lowest levels since 1976. In addition, average temperatures
around the Tour area were close to 30˚ C, compared with an average of 26˚ C,
regularly surpassing 35˚ C, according to the French national weather service,
Météo France. This lack of water meant the berries of this potentially abundant
crop remained small and hard, with maturation blocked until rain fell in the
second half of August and early September.

These conditions meant growers had
to be careful about fruit selection if they were aiming high. Sarah Hwang of
Domaine Huet says, “Going into the August holidays, there were a lot of bunches
on the vine, so we needed a little bit of water. The vines hadn't progressed
much when we got back in August, and we had to rediscover the idea of patience
because we've become so used to reacting [in recent warm vintages]. We had so
much time because there was only one day when it rained during harvest. Towards
the end, there was a bit of rot, but certain bunches were still rock hard, and there
was a high level of sorting: we rejected 25% [of the crop] at the sorting
table.”

The lack of juice also made
pressing tricky. While this was more problematic for the red varieties, Chenin
is a phenolic white variety, and it can be naturally bitter, which is
attractive in small doses but is best served by hand harvesting and gently
whole bunch pressing to avoid unpleasant tannin. Unfortunately, there is an
awkwardness in a few of the early released examples that may be more apparent
as more wines from the vintage are coming into the market, particularly those
wines made with grapes picked on sugar ripeness rather than phenolic ripeness,
but this is the great dilemma for growers. Leave it too late, and you face high
alcohol levels too, which further exaggerates the elbows and knees of a wine.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1697723296709-Sitting+in+the+heart+of+Saumur%2C+the+hard-to-find+Domaine+Guiberteau+is+a+reference+when+it+comes+to+Chenin+and+Cabernet+Franc_copy.jpg">Sitting in the heart of Saumur, the hard-to-find Domaine Guiberteau is a reference point when it comes to Chenin and Cabernet Franc.

While many of the finest 2022s remain
in barrel and will do so for some time, the first releases show tenderness and gentle
acidity rather than the piercing arrow that we experienced in 2021. Winemakers
were looking to build mid-palate weight, and that’s generally achieved with lees
aging and the addition of oak, but that was also fraught with problems as the
wet season led to powdery mildew pressure, resulting in a high number of sulfur
sprays in the vineyard. But this can cause stuck fermentations
and produce the less than pleasant aromatic marker of hydrogen sulfide: rotten
eggs. As I mentioned in last year’s article, Tessa Laroche of Domaine aux
Moines in Savennières transferred the lees from her barrels of 2020 whites to
the 2021s to bring the texture she desired. In 2022, richness and weight are
easy to find, but the gentle nature of the vintage’s acidity is fundamental to
finding balance. 

The two vintages may seem poles apart, but, on
occasions, there are wines that could be mistaken for the other. Julien Pinon’s 2022 Buvez du Bon Pinon, for example, is crisp and fresh and in a line of
2022s, could be mistaken for a 2021, which the position of his Vouvray domaine can explain. It sits in the north of the appellation and is renowned
for being a cool spot, while Yannick Amirault’s 2021&nbsp;Bâtard Princesse is round
and full, with notes of dried fruit. The wine’s tension is a clear pointer to
2021, but its shape and aromatic expression are more opulent than you’d imagine
from the weather report.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Unpredictable weather has continued to give Chenin
makers plenty of headaches in 2023, but a lack of predictability seems to be
the new normal for grape growers. It adds another layer of complexity to the
geological chaos (bingo!) and the ideological lines drawn in the Loire’s Chenin
heartland. It is diverse and layered, and it is these many shades of Chenin that
keep us intoxicated. Wine, unlike the Angers soccer team’s kit, is never black
and white.

I tasted the wines in this report mostly in the Loire in June 2023 at domaine visits and appellation
tastings, with some tastings at my home in England. A number of
producers were not able to receive me when I was in the region, including Ferme
de la Sansonnière and Richard Leroy, while others, such as Eric Morgat, did not
submit samples to my appellation tastings. We will be adding reviews from
additional producers in the weeks to follow.© 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism. <hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/where-art-thou-chablis-chablis-2021-2022-sep-2023">Where Art Thou Chablis? - Chablis 2021 &amp; 2022</a>, Neal Martin, September 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/chenin-blanc-wait-a-sec-sep-2022">Chenin Blanc: Wait a Sec</a>, Rebecca Gibb MW, September 2022 <div><div></div></div><div><div><a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/interpreting-chenin-blanc-mar-2021">Interpreting Chenin Blanc</a>, Rebecca Gibb MW, March 2021</div></div>

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