Francois Chidaine Clos du Breuil Montlouis Blanc 2020 Bibendum Wine Co

François Chidaine is one of France’s most exciting white wine makers; his philosophy lies in biodynam vineyard , ultra low yields and ‘hands off’ élevage. 

wines of staggering texture and complexity. It gives you an idea of Chidaine’s standing in the Loire that when Benjamin Dagueneau wanted to gain experience as a younger man, he went to work with Chidaine. Chidaine has caused a mini revolution in Montlouis – in many ways the contemporary history of Montlouis is the history of this young vigneron – with a swag of winemakers now following in his steps. Such is the dynamism of this movement, that on a recent visit to Domaine Huet (Vouvray), Noel Pinguet joked that he wished he could swap appellations! One of the remarkable aspects of Chidaine is that despite his success, his prices remain remarkably fair. As the Schildnecht quote above suggests, these are some of the finest value great wines (not to mention authentic wines of terroir) on the market. In terms of the regions, Montlouis is Vouvray’s little brother, sitting directly across the Loire river in France’s North. The analogy of siblings is a good one as the rivalry between these two regions is intense. However, as Montlouis is much smaller in size, 400 hectares as opposed to 1800 for Vouvray, and as most of the wine is consumed in France, Montlouis is less well known. Chidaine is the widely acknowledged master of Montlouis and now with his prime land in Vouvray ‚– including the legendary Clos Baudoin vineyard which he purchased five years ago from the Poniatowski family. Farming biodynamically and cropping at well under three tonnes to the acre. – Importer Note