Domaine François Chidaine

RVF, Les meilleurs vins de France 2011 :
« François Chidaine est un acteur majeur des blancs de Loire, qui rayonne sur Montlouis, son fief d’origine, mais aussi plus récemment au sommet de Vouvray. Avec son épouse Manuela, caviste très active, et son associé et cousin Nicolas Martin, ils sont, depuis fin 2006, totalement propriétaires du renommé Clos Baudoin (ex-Poniatowski). Une excellente nouvelle pour les amateurs de grands vouvrays, qui retrouveront, après les quelques années nécessaires de remise en état, la race complète de ce terroir historique. »

Bettane & Desseauve, Grand guide des vins de France 2011 :
« François Chidaine a précédé de quelques années la jeune garde de Montlouis, qui rend si passionnante la progression de cette petite appellation. Il produit des vouvrays qui partagent le même brio que ses montlouis. L’intégralité de la gamme est d’un haut niveau qualitatif, et fait de cette adresse une valeur sûre pour amateurs exigeants. Il parvient à domestiquer remarquablement le chenin mais certains de ses terroirs imposent un peu de patience. Respectons-les. »

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate :
« A still youthfully energetic Francois Chidaine — for more about whose methodology and recent history see my report in issue 172 — has continued to hone his long-ago manifest talents, even as (together with his cousin Nicolas) he oversees two estates (one formerly that of Prince Poniatowski in Vouvray, which accounts for 30 % of total production). Based on their performance in cask, his 2009s — which weren’t harvested much earlier than his 2008s — surpass those of his Vouvray and Montlouis neighbors (many of whom bottled their wines in spring) for refreshment, clarity, precision, and minerality, even though alcohol levels center around a for these appellations relatively high 13.5-14 %. As for Chidaine’s 2008s, while their acidity and minerality might strike some tasters as too prominent, I don’t think Chidaine hyperbolizes when he calls the vintage 'magic.' You have to look to the historical collections of regional leaders Foreau and Huet to find comparable consistently high quality, making it clear that Chidaine is one of the world’s finest craftsmen in the medium of white wine, not to mention a continuing source of amazing value. (I hope to be able to catch up with and report on his 2007s at some point, too, but there was simply no time to get to that when I visited him, nor since.) All of the 2009s in this report were tasted, unassembled, from a range of (nearly all 620-liter) barrels of various ages. There will as usual be an off-dry Les Tuffeaux bottling from barrels not selected for final inclusion in any site-specific cuvees — reflecting 6 or 7 parcels in all — but by its nature non-existent until after the late summer assemblage. It will however include the fruit of young vines from the flint-chalk Les Epinais that ascended to 14.7 % alcohol even with high residual sugar, and whose caramelized, honeyed aura is more vintage-typical than most of the 2009 lots here. Incidentally, Chidaine intimated that he might re-instate the word 'sec' on the labels of his dry wines. I continue to consider it a mistake for him and so many of his follow-growers in Montlouis and Vouvray to rely solely on winery-internal conventions as to what tastes dry and what sweet. »

Thewinedoctor.com :
« François Chidaine started out working exclusively in the Montlouis appellation, Vouvray’s less prestigious sibling which sits on the opposite bank of the Loire. Unlike some of his peers who I have profiled, such as Jacky Blot, Chidaine was born into a vigneron’s family, his father Yves having several hectares of vines in Husseau, a small Touraine village. When he started out in 1989 he worked alongside his father, although on separate plots of vines which totalled only 4.5 hectares, and with the passage of time it would appear that François has eclipsed the efforts of his forebear. He has achieved this using natural methods in the vineyards, which were initially certified organic (although this fact was not publicised) and have since 2003 been certified biodynamic (Biodyvin certification, hence my brief encounter at Fonroque), having begun the process of conversion in 1999. This was the same year that François opened La Cave Insolite in Montlouis-sur-Loire with his wife Manuela. Since then he has continued to expand his domaine, including the purchase of some vineyards across the river in Vouvray. »

Domaine François Chidaine - Loire