Chinon
In the Cellar
Wine
Styles
Red Wines
Generally speaking, the three soil types of Chinon produce two different
styles of wine: léger (light)
and corsé (full-bodied). The
minimum natural alcohol content for Chinon rouge is 10.5% and a maximum of
13% - if the wines have been chaptalized (something that hasn’t occurred
in Chinon since 2002, and even then it was modest).
The
lighter styles are generally selected from young vines or come from the
sandy terrasses close to the
Loire or Vienne. They will receive a seven day cuvaison
in tank and are bottled around Easter, which is why the term Cuvée
des Pâques is used so widely by the growers when defining the style.
Whilst carbonic maceration has been a weapon in the winemakers armoury, it
does have a tendency to exaggerate any herbal notes if the bunches are not
fully ripe. Trials have also indicated that specific selected yeasts
combined with low fermentation temperatures can also reduce the herbal
profile so often associated with these wines.
The
corsé examples invariably come
from either the more silicious soils or off the clay-limestone slopes and
plateaux. Invariably, these wines will have seen a longer cuvaison with greater extraction before being committed to wood of
one type or another. Friendly
local rivalry between the Chinonnais
and the vignerons of Bourgueil once rumoured that the former would rub the
inside of their casks with raspberries to reproduce the characteristic
aroma of Cabernet Franc. Even as recently as the last 1980s, these casks
were in fact 400-600 litre fûts,
traditionally made of chestnut. These were eventually abandoned due to the
bitterness caused in the resulting wine. Today, the use of the ubiquitous
oak barrique or foudre is
common, with Bernard Baudry claiming to have been the first in the
appellation to adopt small wood when he started in 1975. Barriques were
certainly frowned upon at the time by fellow vignerons
who considered the resulting wine as atypique.
For this commentator at least, the introduction of the barrique has been
one of the causes in the appellation losing it way. On the whole, Cabernet
Franc from these parts is too delicate to handle the wood and only serves
to mask the origin.
There is something of a third category; a sort of
half-way-house compromise between the generalization of the above, where
certain growers elect to blend the wines from the plain and the slopes to
arrive at an homogenous medium. Some see this as the best overall
expression of the appellation, combining the assets of the two wine styles
to create a blend that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Rosé
Current figures offered by Jean-Max Manceau, president of the grower’s
syndicate, states that 13% of the Chinon harvest is vinified as rosé - up
from 10% from a few seasons ago - and indicate the current fashion for all
things pink. The production from year to year depends, essentially, on
rate of sale of previous vintage since no grower wants to be sitting on
stock after the following summer.
The legislation dictates
that there should be no more than four grams of residual sugar per lite in
the finished wines. The rules for the method of production, however,
are less prescriptive with growers allowed to use pressurage direct, saignée or maceration (or a blend of these
techniques) to achieve the end result. Some producers do use more than one
method, whilst others will switch from one year to the next. Saignée
particularly depends on the conditions of the season and is used when
there is the prospect of a large harvest, whilst in more concentrated
vintages such as 2003 and 2009 this technique is not really viable.
Cabernet Sauvignon is
more likely these days to be dedicated for rosé production, since its
ripening abilities for making red wine have been called into question.
Some growers also seek to encourage the wines to go through malolactic
fermentation; or at least partial malo.
Blanc
There is no single interpretation of Chinon Blanc, since growers have
their own philosophies on how the wines should be made. The only legislation
that they must adhere to (apart from a potential minimum alcohol of 10%)
for the appellation is the finished wines must contain less than 6 grams a
litre of residual sugar. Beyond that, drinkers can expect to encounter
examples raised in tank and designed for early consumption, whilst others
take the Burgundian route of barrel fermentation and either partial or
full malolactic fermentation. Some growers elect to use selected yeasts,
with at least one recent commercial example tasting more like a Sauvignon
Blanc than Chenin. Those wines produced in a more durable style are
capable of ageing for a decade or more, although despite a similar
exposition and soil profile, the wines fail to exhibit the same style or
sheer quality one can find in the local benchmarks of Saumur, Vouvray or
Montlouis.
Those growers who exceed
the 6g/l limit for the residual sugar level have the right currently
(until the appellation laws change to make Sauvignon Blanc the sole white
grape variety allowed to use the name) to declassify to the generic
Touraine appellation. There are some who actively set out to produce a moëlleux
style and will, for the moment at least, happily downgrade their
production from Chinon Blanc.
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