François Chidaine "Sauvignon" Loire Valley, France 2024

FROM BEAUNE IMPORTS:

THE WINE: Classique styled Loire Valley Sauvignon from the master of Montlouis and Vouvray. Produced entirely from Chidaine’s biodynamically farmed vineyards around the villages of Montrichard & Chissay-en-Touraine, just north of the Cher river. Minerals and citrus are packed into this beauty that shows surprising length and complexity for the appellation. This is a great lower-priced alternative to the popular sauvignons produced in the eastern Loire valley.

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.