Chinon and Vouvray

Chinon

The vineyards of Chinon are primarily planted along the steep slopes of the River Vienne, with soils that are mostly gravel over Turonian limestone. Only 2-3% of the grapes are white or rosé, with the balance being Cabernet Franc.

All of the winemakers in the region were quite busy with harvest when we visited, but the winemaker’s wife at Bernard Baudry, Hélène, graciously offered me a tasting and cellar tour. I learned during my visit of Chinon that Bernard Baudry is highly respected by other producers and makes some of the best Cabernet Franc in the area. Baudry was a father/son team and I quickly learned the whole production was a family affair, so great to see. They produced six different Cabernet Francs aligning with various differences in soil types of the region. Most were fermented in concrete tanks and then aged in the tufa caves in used French oak barrels. Some wines were aged in one to three year old barrels and some in even older four to eight year old. I really enjoyed being able to taste the purity of fruit and natural tannins from the grapes with no new oak influence. It was difficult to choose a favorite but Les Grézeaux was exceptional; the vineyard was planted in 1945 on terraces with large rocks, gravel and some sand. The wine was so smooth, round and full of dark fruits. Bernard Baudry also produced a delicious Chenin Blanc, the wine fermented in concrete egg and neutral puncheons (double the size of a barrel), a very savory and mineral white wine. It would be so great to taste it with another 10 years of bottle age. It was certainly a fun day to visit as there was so much energy around harvest, they were hosting their harvest lunch for their team and as I was leaving a young lad jumped out of a tank in his undies after scooping out the pomace to be pressed!

I ventured into the cute town of Chinon for a quick snack and tasting at La Cabane à Vin, located just off the little square. It turned out the Baudrys were one of the owners of the sweet wine shop as well. Here I enjoyed a cheese plate sampling another two Chinon Blancs and one Cabernet Franc from the area while having a chat with the friendly owner.

The last stop of the day was a tasting at Domaine de Noiré. The hostess spoke amazing English and was so knowledgable about their production techniques. With such a small team, they all pitched in wherever help was needed. Domaine de Noiré produced an interesting Chenin Blanc in a terracotta amphora that was quite mineral and grippy. They produced three different Cabernet Francs, each from older vineyards on varying types of soil. My favorite wine was called Elégance, the vine age 35 to 50 years old and grown in sandy clay soils. The wine had pleasant tannins and a deep dark purple color with ripe fruit aromatics. Max had been talking about making grape juice in wine country and they had a Cabernet Franc juice for sale, the kids were stoked with a little gift from my adventures.

Vouvray

The next day I ventured east of Tours to Vouvray. This region was dedicated almost exclusively to Chenin Blanc, I had no idea how many different styles of wine can be produced from one variety: from dry sparkling wines, semi-dry sparkling, dry still wine(sec), semi-dry(demi-sec) to sweet(moelleux). So many possibilities for one grape!

The first tasting of the day was Jacky Blot’s Domaine de la Taille aux Loups where Lilia attended with me, smelling a few glasses here and there. The hostess was fantastic, she just kept bringing out more wines to taste, primarily Chenin Blancs but also some Cabernet Francs. In the end, I think we tried 16 different wines, all delicious in their own way, the sweeter “moelleux” wines were quite impressive. I believeDomaine de la Taille aux Loups exports to California and Australia so if you see it, give it a try.

Arriving next at Domaine Huet, I was greeted by the cellar master Johan, who had an extraordinary visit planned out for me. He was so knowledgable about the history of the domaine, production techniques, the wines and the vineyards. We toured the cellar, caves full of sparkling bottles being riddled (he hand-turned each bottle once per day for 20 days in preparation of bottling!), tasted through the portfolio of wines and then ventured to their top vineyard site. The owners were out in the field sorting grapes for the specific style of wines with the crew. All of the wines were top quality with the “sec” Le Mont being quite serious and “demi-sec” Clos du Bourg delicious. I so appreciated the team there taking the time to show me around and taste through their wines during their busiest time of year, class act!

Final stop in Vouvray was Domaine Vincent Carême, a husband/wife team who started the domaine together. He was from France and she from South Africa. Their sparkling wine was fantastic, if I wasn’t carrying everything on my back I would have bought a few bottles! They also had various Chenin Blancs at different sweetness levels with the Le Peu Morier my favorite.

So inspiring to tour these two regions and to feel the passion and commitment to the specific varietals that do so well in the respective terroirs.