schiller-wine: Tasting at Domaine François Chidaine in Montlouis-sur-Loire

The Loire Tour 2025 by ombiasy WineTours took place from Sunday, October 5 to Thursday, October 16, 2025. The tour started in Nantes and ended in Sancerre, with a bus transfer and lunch in Paris. There were 9 of us including Annette and myself.

We started the day with a visit of Domaine François Chidaine in Montlouis-sur-Loire. This was a tasting-only event in the tasting room. But on the way to lunch, we stopped at the vineyards of Domaine François Chidaine.

Loire 2025 by ombiasy WineTours led by Annette Schiller

Annette Schiller in her announcement: What comes to your mind when you hear ‘Loire Valley’? Of course images of glorious Châteaux pop up in your mind. Yes that is true and we will visit some iconic château and dig deep into France’s history. However, during this wine tour we also discover a magnificent, but often overlooked French wine region and one of the most exciting best kept secrets of excellent, high quality wines at very reasonable prices. The Loire Valley wine region is a vast area and consists of several distinct wine regions, each with its own characteristic grapes, appellations, and wine style. We take you on a journey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Auvergne mountains to explore this unique region. We learn to appreciate “Sancerre”, "Pouilly-Fumé", “Vouvray", “Chinon”, as well as many other not so familiar appellations.

AOC Montlouis-sur-Loire

Montlouis is an appellation of 1000 acres located directly across the Loire river from Vouvray. Before it was granted AOC status in 1037, Montlouis wines were produced as AOC Vouvray. The soils in both places are similar: sandy clay on a base of tuffeau. Some people claim that the soils here have a slightly higher content of pepples and sand and therefore the Montlouis Chenin Blanc wines are a bit leaner than the Vouvray ones.

Domaine François Chidaine in Montlouis-sur-Loire (ombiasy WineTours)

The Domaine François Chidaine is a Loire Valley success story. François did not come with a prestigious wine domaine but built a flagship winery with his passionate focus on his philosophy of ecological esponsibility and clever purchases of top vineyards.

Domaine François Chidaine sits in the heart of the Touraine region. François comes from a winemaking family in the region but started from scratch with a couple of acres to build his own domaine in Montlouis-sur-Loire in 1989. This family estate has now 120 acres of vineyards and is at the forefront of ecological sensible winemaking and agriculture.

For over twenty years (certified biodynamic by Biodyvin since 1999) they practice biodynamic viticulture, soil conservation, and regenerative agriculture (implementing practices – for example: no till farming - that improve the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted into plant material and soil organic matter).

60 acres in Montlouis and 25 acres in Vouvray – including the very prestigious Clos Baudoin - are planted with Chenin Blanc. It will be very interesting to taste the Chenin from those two appellations side by side. The rest – about 40 acres - are East of the Cher Valley and planted with Sauvignon Blanc, and the red varieties Pinot Noir, Grolleau, Cabernet Franc, Côt, et Pineau d’Aunis. These wines are in the AOP Touraine appellation.

The portfolio de François Chidaine is vast: he produces the entire range of Loire Valley wines: whites from Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc from dry to moelleux to noble sweet to fortified, reds from autochtone grapes and international varieties, and a range of sparkling wines.

Domaine François Chidaine (Polaner Selections)

At a Glance

Second generation estate located in Montlouis, run by the dymanic couple, François and Manuela Chidaine.
For years Chidaine has been a leader in natural viticulture, farming organically and biodynamically.
Today, Chidaine embraces “regnerative agriculture”, a no-till farming approach where permanent cover crops of indigenous and sown plants coexist with the vines. By mimicking nature, the vines find their place in a complex ecosystem, allowing them to better express their place of origin. Additionally, by building soil, François improves the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted into plant material and soil organic matter.
Besides a range of blended and single-parcel Montlouis, Chidaine also produces a couple of wines from top vineyards in Vouvray, as well as several delicious, easy-drinking, great value wines from purchased grapes from nearby vineyards in the Touraine appellation.

Montlouis is an appellation of 400 hectares located directly across the river from Vouvray. In fact, until it was granted AOC status in 1937, Montlouis wines were produced under the Vouvray appellation. The soils in both places are quite similar: sandy clay on a base of tuffeau. Some say that a slightly higher percentage of sand and pebbles in the Montlouis soils makes the wines a bit leaner than the wines of Vouvray. For us, this trait adds to the charm of Montlouis's sec wines, giving them a lively crispness on the palate and outstanding minerality.

François Chidaine worked alongside his father Yves for many years before setting out on his own in 1989. Convinced of the potential of the teroirs of Montlouis and Vouvray, he purchased assorted parcels and expanded the estate to today's total of 30 hectares of Chenin Blanc, many of which are dominated by old vines of 40 to 80 years of age. During these years of growth, Chidaine earned a reputation as a leading natural viticulturalistin the region. Today, he is devoted to what is referred to in the U.S. as "regenerative agrcitulture", which involves implementing practices that are known to improve the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted into plant material and soil organic matter (squestering CO2 in the soils). At the heart of this approach is a practice of "no-till" farming. While plowing is an integral part of natural viticulture for many farmers and producers, this disruption of the soil is thought to interfere with the complex mycorrhizal network (funghi network) that actually connects individual plants together and transfers water, carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients and minerals between them. After years of working his soils, François developed a belief that by plowing he was sabotaging these important communication networks which help to give the vines what they need to flourish. An essential asopect of regenerative farming is the establishment of permanent cover crops between vine rows. Francois encourages biodiversity by embracing the growth of indigenous plants and sowing over 25 additional species among the vines. By mimicking nature, the vines find their place in a complex ecosystem, allowing them to better express their place of origin.

This progressive vision isn't simply about growing the best grapes possible, but rather a vision for the future. In François' words, "this is how we save the world" (not to mention other proponents, of course). It is estimated that as much as one-third of the surplus CO2 in the atmosphere that is causing climate change has come from agricultural and land management practices. Through organic and biodynamic farming, Francois never saw the results that he is now seeing in his soils and vineyards. But he admits that he is thankful he took those paths since they led him here, and he hopes others will join him.

At the Domaine, François is a true champion of the Chenin Blanc grape and touts its ability to produce vibrant wines that age gracefully. He is happiest in his vines, but being among his barrels is a close second. In many circles, François is as respected a vinifier as he is a vigneron. He produces an entry-level line of Touraine wines -- Clos de la Grange Sauvignon Blanc, Touraine Rosé and Touraine Rouge -- all of which overdeliver at their value price points. Two sparkling wines serve as an excellent introduction to Chidaine's various expressions of Chenin: a Méthode Traditionnelle made with grapes from younger vines in Montlouis that spend 12 months on the lees, as well as a Petillant made from Vouvray vines that aged 36 months sur lie. Below, our respeted colleague and long-time Chidaine fan, Peter Liem, beatifully outlines the Chidaine lineup wine-by-wine:

Montlouis Les Bournais - On a limestone plateau overlooking the Loire river sit Les Bournais, a vineyard Chidaine refers to as "a magical place". It had been abandoned for some time, but Chidaine was convinced that it was one of the very best sites in Montlouis, and planted vines here in 1999. 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. Chidaine’s goal is to vinify this dry, barring the occasional aberration such as 2005, and the result is a powerful, full-bodied wine, probably the closest to Vouvray in profile of all Chidaine’s Montlouis wines.

Montlouis Clos du Breuil - Chidaine’s holdings here include several plots spread over 3.5 hectares, each varying slightly on a typical Montlouis theme of clay and silex over chalk. The vines average about 40 years of age, although the oldest ones are 80 years old, and this is always made as a dry wine (normally 2-4 g/l of sugar). It’s racy and extremely minerally, one of the classiest dry chenins of the area.

Montlouis Les Choisilles - Les Choisilles is a cuvée, usually blended from old vines in the vineyards of Les Epinais, La Taille aux Loups and Clos au Renard. It’s named after a type of black flint called (you guessed it) choisille. Les Choisilles is a concentrated, focused dry wine that often needs several years to develop.

Les Argiles (Vouvray vines) - This is a blend of various plots surrounding the Clos Baudoin, including L’Espagnole, Le Haut Lieu, La Chatterie, L’Homme and La Reugnières. The clay here is deeper than in the Clos, giving a broad, rich girth to the wine. Chidaine vinifies this dry, usually around 4 g/l of residual sugar.

Clos Baudoin (Vouvray vines) - The 2.7-hectare south-facing Clos Baudoin is one of Vouvray’s legendary sites. It had previously belonged to the Prince Poniatowski, but Chidaine had rented the vines since 2002, and has owned the plot outright since the end of 2006. There are vines up to 60 years old here, but unfortunately the entire vineyard will have to be replanted due to a virus in the soil, and Chidaine has already pulled up one hectare of vines. The small amount of wine that he does make from the rest of the Clos Baudoin is sleek and fine, with noticeably more complexity and dimension than his other Vouvrays. It’s always a dry wine, as he thinks this vineyard excels at classic Vouvray sec.

Montlouis Clos Habert - The Clos Habert lies adjacent to the Clos du Breuil, on clay and a type of silex called perruches. Part of the vineyard is about 25 years old, with the rest 60-80 years old, and Chidaine uses these vines to make a tendre style of Montlouis with a lovely balance and minerality, usually around 20 g/l of residual sugar.

Montlouis Les Tuffeaux - Les Tuffeaux is a cuvée blended from 30- to 70-year old vines from various vineyards on clay and silex, including the Clos du Volagray and Saint-Martin. Like the Clos Habert, this is intended to be around 15-20 g/l of residual sugar, but it’s usually slightly richer and larger in body.

Le Bouchet (Vouvray vines)- Le Bouchet is a north-facing vineyard adjacent to the Clos Baudoin, on the same clay and chalk terroir as its other neighbor, the Clos du Bourg of Domaine Huet (in fact, the Clos du Bourg was supposedly a part of Le Bouchet many years ago). Of Chidaine’s two hectares here, half of the vines are young, with the rest 70-80 years old. The resulting wine is a rich, dense and voluptuously textured demi-sec, and Chidaine notes that aromas of white truffle and iodine are typical of Le Bouchet.

As of the 2014 vintage, vines grown in Vouvray but produced and bottled outside of the village can no longer bear the name of the Vouvray appellation. François Chidaine and Jacky Blot are two Montlouis producers with vines in Vouvray who are affected by this ruling, which has stirred up a lot of controversy and emotion within the appellation and beyond its borders. Imagine if a Gevrey grower was banned from producing a wine from Chambolle vines that had been in the family for decades (or centuries for that matter)! Many believe the edict is in response to the growing popularity of Montlouis in Paris and other major European cities. We believe it will backfire; consumers and collectors will rally around these growers, not only because the ruling is unjust, but because François Chidaine makes some of the most compelling, terroir-transparent, ageworthy Chenin Blanc in the world.

If you have the pleasure of visiting the newly renovated and expanded domaine, don't miss stopping by La Cave Insolite, the Montlouis wine shop run by François' wife and force of nature Manuéla Chidaine. She has a well curated selection of wines from the Loire, both old guard and up and comers, as well as the 'best of the best' of small growers from regions throughout France. The sky is the limit with this dynamic duo.

Arriving