Domaine François Chidaine Montlouis Les Bournais Franc de Pied 2023

Domaine François Chidaine Montlouis Les Bournais Franc de Pied comes from a fifth of a hectare of ungrafted Chenin Blanc on the edge of a chalk cliff.

Montlouis-sur-Loire faces Vouvray across the river and is generally planted on clay and flint, which makes Les Bournais unusual: a four-hectare vineyard on a pocket of clay over the Bournais limestone that gives it its name, closer in character to Vouvray’s Première Côte than to the rest of its own appellation. The vines were planted in 1998 and follow the contours of the plateau right to the edge of the drop. Roots have only about 35 centimetres of clay to work through before meeting bedrock, which is one plausible reason for the smoky signature these wines carry. The franc de pied cuvée comes from a tiny plot of ungrafted vines nearest the cliff, planted at the same time as the rest, and is raised in a second-fill 1200-litre Taransaud foudre rather than the vessels used for the standard bottling.

Tightly wound on release and worth five to fifteen years. Serve at 10-12°C with roast pork belly, smoked trout or a mature goat’s cheese.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.