Francois Chidaine 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, Touraine, Loire Valley

• Winemaker: François Chidaine
• Farming: Biodynamic
• Grape Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc
• Soil Type: Chalky Limestone, Clay
• Vinification/Oak Usage: Indigenous yeast fermented, Stainless Steel Vat Fermented & Aged
• Tasting Notes: A crisp, classic Loire Valley Sauvginon. Light to medium bodied, flinty minerality, notes of mandarin and kaffir lime are accented by white florals and a long, acid-driven finish.

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.