The Most Versatile Grape Variety You've Never Heard Of
Where It's Grown
Primarily found growing along the Loire River in France in the regions of Anjou-Saumur and Touraine, Chenin Blanc is responsible for producing some of the finest whites of France.
The Loire Valley runs east to west from the cooling influence of the Atlantic Ocean inland to the center of the country. As a result of this east to west oriented valley, the Loire has a varied climate ranging from maritime with mild summers and winters in the east to a continental climate with warm summers and harsh winters as you travel further inland.
Closer to the Atlantic in the region of Anjou, centered around the city of Angers, Chenin Blanc is responsible for the wines of Anjou Blanc, as well as the legendary sweet wines of Bonnezaux and Quarts de Chaume and the dry wines of Savennières.
Further west in Touraine, centered around the city of Tours, Chenin Blanc is used to produce a variety of different wine styles, from still to sparkling and dry to sweet, primarily in the sub-regions of Vouvray and Montlouis.
In South Africa, Chenin Blanc is by far the most planted varietal where it is used to produce still wines, sparkling wines, and even as a base for fortified wines and spirits. Here, Chenin Blanc’s naturally high acidity really shines and several producers have sought out old vine Chenin Blanc and are producing some stellar wines.
In California, Chenin Blanc once had more total plantings than all of France but has since fallen out of favor. Now it is grown primarily in the hotter region of the Central Valley and used as the base for crips whites of varying levels of sweetness. One producer in the Napa Valley, Chappellet, is know for producing Chenin Blanc worthy of laying down for multiple years but this is more of a tasting room feature than a commercially viable wine.
Characteristics
In the vineyard, Chenin Blanc is a vigorous vine which needs to be kept in check. The vine buds early but ripens late, not necessarily a problem in warmer regions but can be troublesome in the cooler regions of the Loire.
Synonyms
In France, Chenin Blanc goes by many different names; Anjou in Landes, Gros Chenin in Maine-et-Loire, Gros Pineau in Touraine, Pineau d'Anjou in Mayenne, Pineau de la Loire in Indre-et-Loire, among others.
In the grapes second home of South Africa, you will still sometimes find bottles of Chenin Blanc listed under the name Steen. South Africans had been growing Steen for hundreds of years up until the 1960s when it was realized that the grape they had been referring to all this time as Steen was indeed Chenin Blanc. It should be noted that this name has fallen out of favor and most producers use the more widely accepted name of Chenin Blanc.
In The Glass
Since the grape is so versatile and can be made in a number of different styles, it’s hard to attribute to it any one particular characteristic. If you had to assign High acidity seems to be it’s calling card, even in cooler regions.
In the basic, dry style, look for simple floral aromas with high acidity making it a great wine to pair with food. In sweeter styles, the wines have a marked honey note but is kept in check with its higher than usual acid levels. And it’s that high level of acidity that make the grape particularly useful in sparkling wines where it displays a particularly perfumed nose.
Producers of Note
Domaine Huet - Vouvray
Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups - Montlouis
Domaine du Closel - Savennières
Chappellet - Napa Valley
Badenhorst Family Wines - Swartland
Beaumont Family Wines - Bot River
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