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The Case for Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc in SavennieresLook through any general wine guide and you will find a section on grapes. Not all wine grapes, obviously, because there are hundreds of different varieties which will ferment into something drinkable. Rather, most guides focus on a 'premier league' of grapes. Typically, this will include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. This is not an exhaustive list, of course. Most guides will include others, such as Nebbiolo and Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer, but the half dozen listed above are virtually guaranteed. But what is it about these varieties that makes this true? I aim to explore this in a little more detail before I put forward my case for a variety all too often excluded from the grape variety A list; Chenin Blanc.

Quality and History

The above six varieties have an obvious common trait; they all originate from classic European wine regions, where they have been cultivated for centuries. And the reason they have been so successful is simple; it is down to the sheer quality of the end product. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot together make the great wines of Bordeaux, being more predominant on left bank and right bank respectively. This is the only case where the premier league grapes are frequently blended; the others are generally monovarietal wines. Syrah gives rise to the great wines of Hermitage, and also Côte-Rôtie (there is some blending here also, although it is not universally practised). Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the doyens of Burgundy, producing great red and white wines, although it is sometimes too easy to forget that they share a different, although no less remarkable, kind of success in Champagne. And Riesling, although it maintains a French presence in Alsace, is best when grown on the precipitous vineyards of the Mosel and the Rhine. One can trace back German viticulture in these regions, and in Burgundy too, for a millennium or thereabouts. Champagne, the Rhône and especially Bordeaux have less well recorded history, but we are still talking centuries of success. And international recognition has an obvious consequence; people want to emulate it.

Travelability

These grapes are no longer restricted to these French and German regions. Rather, they are to be found across all the continents where viticulture is a realistic proposition. And the results have, in many cases, not been lukewarm imitations, but fantastic new wines. Cabernet and Merlot have both settled in nicely in California and Italy, Cabernet alone in Australia. Syrah is the variety behind Australia's greatest table wines, although winemakers in Chile, California and Italy are trying their hand as well.

Some of the varieties have had less success though. Chardonnay is the most widely travelled; in fact, where isn't it cultivated? And although there are plenty of very drinkable wines out there, I personally feel of all the varieties above this has had the least success away from it's home. It may travel well, and partner well with oak, but it frequently fails to shine in the same way as Burgundy and particularly Chablis. The same is partly true of Pinot Noir; it is less widely travelled, but success is similarly difficult to grasp. Central Otago seems to offer the greatest hope, but there is no shortage of winemakers elsewhere ready to have a go. And although the German style of Riesling will never be emulated, the fresh, appealing wines emanating from the Adelaide Hills offer some compensation.

Ageability

Another consideration, parallel to considering the intrinsic quality of the wines, is their potential for ageing. All of the varieties above yield wines which will age gracefully for years, if not decades. Leading the pack in longevity is Riesling, which seems happy to toddle along for twenty or thirty years without a falter. Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah also have great potential. The Burgundian grapes can occasionally match this, but they are both, generalising, ready to drink before such time has passed. Merlot can also age very well, as testified by several of my right bank tastings which have featured wines from the 1980s that showed very well indeed.

So, it seems we have a number of qualities to assess when considering the 'worthiness' of a variety:

So what of Chenin Blanc?

Clearly - to my mind at least - Chenin easily meets the first criterion. Chenin has been cultivated in a number of appellations of the Loire for centuries. It is responsible for an array of wonderful, dry, complex wines that seem to translate their terroir very well. These wines originate in Vouvray, occasionally in Anjou, and now especially in Savennières with the help of Nicolas Joly and Claude Papin. The former has a vineyard - Clos de la Coulee de Serrant - which was ranked among France's top five white vineyards by Curnonsky (1872 - 1956), along with Le Montrachet (Burgundy), Chateau Chalon (Jura), Yquem (Bordeaux) and Chateau Grillet (Rhône).

Chenin BlancBut Chenin has something extra up its sleeve as well. Whereas the six varieties above excel in producing table wines, Chenin does much more. Chenin Blanc is also behind the Loire's great sweet wines, which age for decades (if not longer). Even here we have at least two styles, with those from the Layon being heavily botrytised when the conditions are right, whereas those from Vouvray are more racy and nervous, elegant yet sometimes voluptuous. And these wines can be truly immortal - the most renowned being Huet's 1947 Vouvray Haut de Lieu Moelleux, recently ranked sixth, just behind Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache 1978, in a Decanter Magazine feature concerning the 100 greatest wines ever. The only white wine ranked higher was the fabled Chateau d'Yquem 1921. This was a silly exercise by Decanter, but it clearly illustrates what high regard those in the business have for this particular aged Chenin Blanc.

And so with Chenin we have high quality monovarietal wines which have the potential to age well. Admittedly the grape has not experienced success in the New World; only South Africa, where it is known as Steen, has sizeable plantings. Many of these wines have left a lot to be desired, and many vineyards are being replaced by more suitable - and more profitable - red varieties. But this lack of travelability largely reflects Chenin's unrecognised success by the wine drinker in general, and thus also by the New World winemaker who is more likely to focus on the so-called international varieties once they have graduated from Roseworthy or Davis, clutching their certificate. If we were all a little more aware of what some people regard as 'country wines', the story may have been very different. And lack of success in foreign climes seems not to be a bar to entry to the A-list, anyway. I've yet, as I alluded to above, to experience a New World Chardonnay as profound as those from Chablis and the Côte d'Or. And neither Pinot Noir or Riesling have really matched their success at home either.

So there we have it. The new A-list:

Now I'm off to see what arguments I can put forward in favour of Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Grenache. Well, maybe! (21/7/04)

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