With the ever-rising popularity of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and even Pinot Grigio, Chenin Blanc rarely takes center stage.
In fact, many New World producers relegate the variety to little more than supernumerary actor status. Shameless over-cropping yields banal bulk wines with nondescript fruit and soft, unbalanced sweet finishes.
Not so in France's Loire Valley. There, Chenin Blanc goes by the name of Pineau de la Loire and generally receives reverential treatment as a noble variety.
Growers prize Chenin Blanc's tremendous versatility with food and its potential to yield diverse, terroir -driven styles. It can be equally delicious as dry, off-dry, sweet and sparkling wines.
As early as 845 AD, hard working monks at abbeys dotting the Loire River Valley's middle region, from Angers to Tours, identified optimal Chenin Blanc vineyard sites. Through long trial and error, they came to understand Chenin Blanc's interplay with the region's terroir -- a mix of maritime and continental climates combined with chalky clay soils known as tuffeau .
They recognized sloping vineyards with just enough sun as producing wines with the greatest concentration and complexity. Exquisitely ripened grapes provided lush orchard fruit traits balanced perfectly by Chenin Blanc's naturally high acidity.
And in some distinctive locations, they noted cool morning fogs hugging the hillsides and then slowly dissolving in hot afternoon sunshine. In these venues, the famous "noble rot," botrytis cinerea , desiccated grapes to concentrate honeyed flavors for marvelously lush dessert wines.
Beginning in 1935, France's Institut National des Appellations d'Origine -- the INAO -- codified the collected wisdom backed up by scientific research to protect Chenin Blanc's best growing areas, called appellations. Appellation names, rather than the grape name, grace bottle labels.
To ensure the best opportunities for producing quality wines within appellations, INAO regulations stipulate limited grape yields, minimum alcohol levels, and various viticulture practices. Independent growers must abide the rules to use names of now well known appellations such as Vouvray.
Even so, each grower's savoir-faire and hard work and Mother Nature's caprice play important roles. Enjoy the following for the full range of styles:
2008, Cave des Producteurs de Vouvray, Vouvray, France (Luxury 12140; on sale : $13.99): Founded in 1953 by local growers' to pool resources in effort to boost exports, the Cave des Producteurs de Vouvray now boasts forty growers cultivating more than 1,000 acres. Their vines grow on porous tuffeau soils for a pure, well-defined Chenin Blanc fruit expression.
The cooperative pursues high quality with detailed vineyard work and modern stainless-steel fermentation. The wines age in caves dug right into the chalk.
This wine offers ripe peach, pineapple and honey aromas with light flinty notes. The flavors of firm ripe peaches balance on bright acidity and mouthwatering mineral notes.
The fruity, well balanced finish has just a kiss of honeyed sweetness for a demi-sec , that is, off-dry style. As a super Chairman's Selection, this wine comes in about $6 below national prices. Highly recommended.
2005 Domaine des Baumard, Savennières, France (Luxury 24811; $23.99): Founded in 1634, this family-run domaine almost failed during the daunting 19th-century phylloxera infestation. After a slow recovery, Florent Baumard made significant strides in 1950's.
Eschewing mechanical harvesting and excessive chemical treatments, the domaine employed hard, manual labor to ensure sustainable vine health. In the winery, pneumatic presses and stainless fermentation preserved fruitiness and terroir.
Since 1990, Florent's son, Jean, has maintained hand harvesting to ensure only healthy, undamaged grapes for fermentation. Taking full advantage of the influences of limestone and slate soils on the grapes, this wine opens with ripe peach and pear aromas with just a hint of distinctively green quince notes.
Mouth-filling stone fruit and citrus flavors meld with a touch of creaminess balanced by fresh acidity and mineral notes. The wine carries its ample 13-percent alcohol gracefully through a dry, lush finish. Not a hint of oak obscures the wine's distinct personality. Highly recommended.
2005 Château de la Mulonnière, Coteaux du Layon -- Beaulieu, France (Luxury 10246; $25.99): Benevolent botrytis molds attack this family-run domaine's well-placed Chenin Blanc vineyards in the Coteaux du Layon -- Beaulieu appellation. The wine's deep golden color offers concentrated honey and peach aromas. Ultra-ripe peach and honey flavors balance beautifully with fine acidity and ample residual sugar. Highly recommended.
