François Chidaine "Brut Nature" Méthode Traditionnelle, Loire Valley, France 2021

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THE WINE: 100% Chenin Blanc. Produced from Chidaine’s biodynamically farmed vineyards, no synthetique chemicals are used, only natural preparations from plants and minerals. Yields here are quite low (35 hectoliters per hectare) for sparkling wine and the finished product contains no dosage. Vine age is from 20-50 years old. Bright yellow color with a nose of white flowers and some notes of citrus. Excellent minerality and length with nice richness.

THE PRODUCER: François Chidaine is one of the Loire Valley’s great success stories. After finishing viticultural school in the mid-1980s, François went to work alongside his father, Yves, who had only four hectares of rented vineyard land in the appellation of Montlouis, in the Touraine. When Yves retired in 1989, he passed the torch to François. Early on, François developed clever contracts with the owners of the vineyards he worked, allowing him an option to buy should the property ever come up for sale. In 1999, his wife, Manuéla, joined him and set up La Cave Insolite, a tasting room and wine shop. Soon after, he started experimenting with organic and biodynamic farming, and by 2003, he was certified in both methods of farming. When in 2002, he and his cousin Nicolas Martin bought Vouvray’s prestigious Clos Baudoin, and in 2006 he bought several of the parcels he had been renting, this small artisan farmer became one of the Loire Valley’s most serious players.