The Loire Valley may be one of the most dynamic wine regions in the world right now, and that is overwhelmingly due to the dry Chenin Blanc movement, which has been underway for over two decades. The energy and quality are at an all-time high today in Chenin Blanc–dedicated appellations like Anjou, Vouvray, Montlouis and Saumur. This week’s Tasting Highlights showcases 10 bottlings worth seeking out.
Vanessa Cherruau is a leader in the new generation of stars transforming the Anjou, one of the many Chenin appellations long known for mass-produced sweet wines. Since her first 2019 vintage at Chateau de Plaisance, the estate she acquired on the region’s prized Chaume hill, her wines have become benchmarks for quality.
“Finally this region is getting recognition for dry Chenin Blanc,” Cherruau says. “The best are mineral and fresh with real texture and identity.” Her basic Anjou white and her Ronceray cuvée (the name chosen by a collective of producers for dry Chenin Blanc from the esteemed Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru, whose name can be used only for sweet wines) both show beautiful freshness and delicate fruit cut with mineral energy and real structure.
For a flinty, leesy, Burgundian Chenin, look to Clau de Nell in Anjou. The estate was purchased and revitalized by the late Anne-Claude Leflaive and her husband Christian Jacques in 2008. Practices like whole-cluster fermentation and neutral oak barrel fermentation make these modern-styled wines especially finessed and able to age.
Even in the more esteemed Vouvray appellation, relatively new names like Vincent Carême are making dry (and off-dry and sparkling) Chenins that offer new perspective and quality. Carême established his domaine in 1999 and makes vineyard-specific cuvées, yet it’s hard to beat his terrific entry-level Vouvray Sec bottling, a salty, smoky, juicy white that offers fantastic value.
The legendary Domaine Huet, easily Vouvray’s most esteemed estate, has new energy. It’s now run by American brother-and-sister duo Sarah and Hugo Hwang, whose family purchased the estate in 2003. Their off-dry and sweet wines remain iconic, and the dry versions are increasingly precise and pure, with fresh apple, quince and spice flavors marked by a refined earthy dimension.
Read on to get our expert scores and full tasting notes!
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