Domaine François Chidaine : Les Grillonnières by Alice Chidaine 2022

Characteristics and tasting notes for the Montlouis-sur-Loire 2022 Domaine François Chidaine

Tasting notes

Colour
This white wine from France reveals a beautiful pale golden hue, enhanced by subtle green highlights.

Nose
The aromatic bouquet opens with great purity, revealing notes of fresh citrus, white peach and quince, harmoniously blended with delicate floral touches reminiscent of hawthorn. On aeration, a complex minerality emerges through nuances of crushed chalk and wet stone.

Palate
On the palate, the wine offers a clean, precise structure, carried by a bright acidity that perfectly balances the mid-palate texture. Flavours of citrus zest and pear intertwine with a vibrant saline minerality, leading to a long, refreshing finish with great freshness.

Food and wine pairing

This white wine pairs wonderfully with seafood such as oysters or sushi, as well as with grilled fish or fish in creamy sauces. It also enhances white meats such as roast poultry or veal escalope with lemon, lightly spiced dishes with Asian influences, and pairs perfectly with matured goat's cheeses.

Service and storage

This Montlouis-sur-Loire 2022 offers immediate drinking pleasure but also has remarkable ageing potential, allowing it to evolve in the cellar until around 2042.

Other characteristics

Depending on the plots, this wine expresses a finely chiselled minerality with very slight residual sugars (between 1.5 and 2.56 grams per litre for the dry cuvées), bringing a subtle richness while retaining a distinctly dry and taut profile.

The pure, mineral expression of a great white wine from the Loire

The estate

Founded in 1989 with just a few hectares, Domaine François Chidaine has become a true benchmark of the Loire Valley. Now overseeing a 45-hectare vineyard, the current owners, François and Manuéla Chidaine, supported by their children Alice and Pierre, continue to uphold a demanding vision of winegrowing. A pioneer of biodynamics, the estate stands out for its respectful approach to living organisms and its commitment to revealing the unique identity of each terroir. Domaine François Chidaine has thus played a significant role in raising its appellation's profile on the international stage.

The vineyard

Located at the confluence of the Loire and Cher valleys, the Montlouis-sur-Loire terroir benefits from a unique microclimate. The vines, some of which are ninety years old, thrive on soils composed of clay and flint resting on a bedrock of white chalk known as tuffeau. The estate practises rigorous biodynamic farming, favouring permanent cover cropping, no tilling of the soil to preserve mycorrhizal networks, and winter eco-grazing by sheep to maintain biodiversity.

The vintage

2022 began with a cold, dry winter, followed by a frost event in April that caused only minor damage to the growing cycle. The summer season proved particularly hot, leading to water stress that was fortunately relieved by welcome rains in mid-August. The harvest, spread from late August to October, took place under optimal conditions, yielding grapes in perfect sanitary condition.

Winemaking and aging

Within a modern gravity-flow cellar, the hand-harvested grapes are handled with great care. The winemaking of this Montlouis-sur-Loire 2022 is characterised by long fermentations in demi-muids (600-litre oak barrels) using indigenous yeasts, extending throughout the winter. The estate chooses to avoid malolactic fermentation and favours extended ageing on the lees to bring complexity and texture to the wine before bottling.

Grape variety

100% Chenin Blanc