Had this last night and it was most impressive. Wine has depth you can’t believe and while obviously young it already dances with style and intensity. Fruit a bit forward now as expected but was tremendous with/without food. There is viscosity here and perhaps that is the sign of the ungrafted old vines this beauty comes from. As good as any young Chenin Blanc I have had.
If the 2011 lives I’d be a buyer.
Glenn, agree with your impression of this wine. I have had most of the Chidaine cuvees before but this was the first Bournais.
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The Bournais is good, but the Franc de Pied is a step above – wish the prices were more similar, but there is definitely a step up in quality
Glenn - Did you get the Franc de Pied in the U.S.? I have only had the wine once in Paris and it blew me away.
Robert, I think I drank the non-Pied Bournais. The Chidaine site seems outdated and also not convertable to English so I can’t verify from it but I believe Glenn had the other cuvee, as you suggest. Here is what I was able to obtain from Chidaine’s site:
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BackPrint ProfileChidaine Montlouis BournaisChidaine - France
Snapshot
Vintage: 2010
Bottle sizes: 750 ML
Country: France
Region: Loire
Appellation: Montlouis-Sur-Loire
Wine type: White
Varietals: Chenin Blanc
Biodynamic: Practicing
Vineyard: Les Bournais is a site overlooking the Loire river. It had been abandoned for some time, but Chidaine believed it to be one of the very best sites in Montlouis, and planted vines here in 1999.
Orientation: Northern exposure
Soil: Unlike most of Montlouis, which is on clay and silex, or flint, Bournais lies on clay and limestone, and the name Bournais refers to the particular type of limestone found here.
Viticulture: Farmed biodynamically, hand harvested
Vinification: Vinified in stainless steel using indiginous yeasts
Aging: Aged in a combination of tank and used demi-muids
Notes: Chidaine’s goal is to vinify this dry and the result is a rich, full-bodied wine, probably the closest to Vouvray in profile of all of his Montlouis wines.
I have also never seen this offered in the US. There are very few bottles listed in CT as well.
Glenn - do you feel this wine is worth 2x the price of the young vines?
Yes Robert, from Down to Earth imports right here on WB. Mr Robert Panzer’s outfit, he’s great to deal with.
I have 3 more my friend!
It is absolutely a terrific wine Russ, for me worth the coin to be able to drink both.
Thanks and Happy Holidays!
I bought the 08 in Seattle a couple of years ago, so definitely available in US.
Mind sharing where you procured this in Seattle? I’ve had a hard time finding a local source for good Loire wines. Usually end up having better luck in PDX.
FWIW, here’s what David Schildknecht stated about the 2009:
Representing a small lot from ungrafted old vines that he began bottling separately with 2007, Chidaine’s dry-tasting 2009 Montlouis Les Bournais Franc de Pied delivers - perhaps predictably - more of the savory and mysterious side of mineral matter already displayed in the ‘regular’ bottling. A suggestion of shrimp and lobster shell reduction reinforces the deep sense of nut oil and quince richness; salinity adds to the invigoration and refreshment conveyed by exuberant citrus fruit juiciness; and suggestions of chalk combine with hints of bitter citrus pit to extend a finish so long and refined as to belie the wine’s alcohol (which is little less than will be that of the primary Bournais assemblage). This satin-textured beauty should be worth following for at least a decade.
I’ll be hunting down the '10. This wine was never on my radar until reading this thread. Thanks!!!
Best,
Kenney
Thanks to Glenn I ordered some from Rob at Down to Earth. This wine is insane and comparable to Grand Cru Burgundy and well worth the $70.
Looks like Rob still has some in stock, but at $70 I just can’t justify it.
I bought it thru Dan McCarthy in his shop. I know they don’t have this bottling on the shelf, but you could check and see if he can reel it in for you.
Circling back to my tangent I took earlier, I had another glass of this wine tonight, the regular Bournais 2010 to be clear, and this may be the best Chidaine I have had to date. The cut in this cuvee is delicious, yet it retains the cool Chidaine markers of citrus and honey. I like the other cuvees that they make but I much prefer the more sec-like style of this Bournais, FWIW.
I have both the regular and Franc de Pied '10 in stock.
Both are fantastique…
Yes, the Franc de Pied may be the single best young dry Chenin i’ve ever tasted, but the regular is soooo good it is difficult to justify 2X the price…purely qualitatively, though, there is greater depth and polish to the FdP.
Had the regular tonight, got home, bought a case.
Silly good, right?
Right.