February 14, 2025
Great back vintage of one of Loire’s finest producers: Francois Chidaine 2019s
Francois Chidaine 2019s - Up to 96-Points
Francois Chidaine is widely regarded as one of the finest vignerons in the Loire Valley, crafting terroir-driven Chenin Blancs that balance complexity, concentration, and finesse. Over the past three decades, his meticulous approach to vineyard management and winemaking has transformed his domaine into one of the most respected in Montlouis-sur-Loire and beyond. His wines, which now span Montlouis, Vouvray, and Touraine, are celebrated for their depth, purity, and remarkable ageing potential.
Chidaine’s Chenin Blancs are celebrated for their ability to reflect the nuances of soil and climate. His Montlouis wines, grown in flinty clay and tuffeau limestone, showcase elegant minerality and precision. In the cellar, Chidaine employs a hands-off approach, fermenting with wild yeasts in oak barrels, allowing the wines to evolve at their own pace. He avoids malolactic fermentation whenever possible to preserve freshness, though acknowledges that warmer vintages are naturally leading to more frequent malolactic conversion. His wines typically rest on lees for around a year, gaining texture and complexity before release.
As part of today’s offer, we have a selection of 2019 back vintages, with the latest release being 2022. The extra time in bottle has allowed these wines to evolve beautifully, making them ready to enjoy now, while still possessing incredible ageing potential. Take the 2019 Choisilles, for example—it offers laser-sharp minerality and depth, with Wine Advocate suggesting it will drink beautifully until 2040.
2019 is a standout vintage of Chidaine and for those who follow scores, these wines represent the highest-rated Chidaine wines from Wine Advocate, showcasing Montlouis-sur-Loire at its finest. We invite you to read the tasting notes below.
These wines offer an exceptional opportunity to experience Chidaine’s finest work, with a perfect balance of freshness and maturity.
Francois Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Bournais 2019
The most opulent and layered of the trio, with rich golden fruit, honeyed depth, and a saline lift, making it a standout expression of Chidaine’s biodynamic philosophy.
94 Points | Decanter, Yohan Castaing
A complex, vibrant bouquet of white flowers and citrus fruit with a touch of gunflint. Dense, fleshy texture on the palate but perfectly balanced with engaging tension that brings freshness and length. Excellent wine. This wine does not usually undergo malolactic fermentation and is aged in 600-litre demi-muid vessels.
93 Points | Wine Advocate, Stephan Reinhardt
From three- to 19-year-old vines, the 2019 Montlouis sur Loire Les Bournais displays a golden-yellow color and a dense, well-concentrated and aromatic bouquet with tropical fruit aromas and, currently, still prominent lactic notes with straw aromas that intertwine with delicate flinty and earthy notes. Intense, tight and salty on the palate, this is a serious as well as tannic Chenin that reveals remarkable finesse and length. Still young but with excellent aging potential. Tasted in March 2021.
Francois Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Choisilles 2019
A wine of tension and precision, grown in flinty clay soils that impart a distinct mineral backbone, vibrant citrus notes, and a long, structured finish.
96 Points | Wine Advocate, Stephan Reinhardt
Chidaine's 2019 Montlouis sur Loire Les Choisilles is deep, pure, fresh and refined on the nose but still very young, with lemon leaf, chalk and sur lie aromas. On the palate, this is a rich and concentrated Chenin, but it reveals remarkable freshness and energy. It is a bit unfair to compare it to the 2018, which has a year more of development, but I have to, and I am still amused by the 2019, which lifts Les Choisilles to unknown heights. The salinity and mineral grip are really beautiful here in the finish, and I believe the wine can age for two decades. Highly attractive pineapple flavors on the aftertaste. Tasted in March 2021.
Francois Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos Breuil 2019
Known for its racy acidity and crystalline purity, this wine is electric yet textural, balancing ripe orchard fruit, wet stone, and incredible finesse.
92 Points | Wine Advocate, Stephan Reinhardt
The 2019 Montlouis sur Loire Clos du Breuil is from a three-hectare vineyard composed of clay and coarse flint elements topping the tuff mother rock. The bouquet is precise, crystalline and deep, pairing lemony, tropical fruit and chalky aromas with flint stone, iodine and red paprika or pimiento notes. The palate is seamless, crystalline, fresh, very elegant and salty-piquant, almost like a limestone Riesling, with ripe pear flavors, fine tannins and a long and dense, if not juicy finish. The acidity is remarkably fine, and the wine indicates great aging potential, even though it is already an excellent Chenin that could be served even as aperitif (despite its 14% alcohol). Vinified in demi-muids for 11 months, then bottled in August 2020. Tasted in March 2021.