Believe it or not, if you’re a wine lover of a certain age, you’ve probably drunk a lot of Chenin over the course of your lifetime. That’s because in the 1980s, Chenin Blanc, or simply Chenin, as it is also known, was widely planted in California wine country where winemakers used it as an anonymous “workhorse” grape variety in white blends. The variety’s naturally high acidity makes it ideal for giving balance and freshness to the ripe fruit that Californians like to put in their wine.
In France, the variety’s spiritual home, Chenin Blanc is considered one of the country’s greatest white grapes. And again, thanks to its wonderfully refreshing acidity, it’s been used historically to make some of the world’s most famous dried-grape, sweet wines in the Loire Valley. Most famously, in the valley’s Vouvray appellation.
In recent years however, as consumers’ and winemakers’ tastes have continued to shift to drier wine styles, communes like Vouvray and Saumur have begun to produce what many wine reviewers refer to as “superstars” in the crowded field of French and international dry white wines. And as young wine professionals are always on the lookout for new trends and wines to champion, they have been eager to embrace these überhip new labels.
(The photo above comes from the Guiberteau estate, a great example of the breathtaking landscape in western Loire.)
These last three wines are all dry, as are nearly all of the wines is this offering.
Whether you’re a Chenin connoisseur or just Chenin curious, check out the complete offering here.
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