August 31st, 2006 La Route du Chenin Blanc

A second taster having a sip of one of the below-rated Chenin Blancs said, "Wow! These certainly aren't your father's Chenin Blancs."

His comment references the fact that for many decades, this grape got little respect because it wasn't turning out worthy wines. But that hasn't always been the case, and--heads up!--it's not the case any longer.

Chenin Blanc has traveled the world, and in so doing has made every kind of wine imaginable, from crisp, dry wines to fabulous sweet ones, and from still to sparkling, and from simple cheap quaffs to spectacular long-lived sweet wines. The grape's native home is the Loire Valley in France. At just over 600 miles long, the Loire is France's longest river. It begins in the Cévennes, a mountain range of the Massif Central, and flows toward Orléans, where it turns ninety degrees and heads west to Nantes, a city on France's western coast, where it joins the Maine and flows toward the Bay of Biscayne and the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

Renaissance châteaux line the river valley, as do vineyards, planted to Sauvignon Blanc (in such appellations as Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre), Cabernet Franc (in Chinon, Bourgueil), and Chenin Blanc (Vouvray). The valley is famous for its historic sites as well. On October 10, 732, Charles Martel defeated a massive Islamic army sweeping northward from Spain, a country Islam had invaded barely 20 years earlier. UNESCO has declared the middle Loire a World Heritage Site for its historical importance. (December 2, 2002).

Chenin's peregrinations are linked to France's history: Following the revocation in 1685 of the Edict of Nantes, which gave 100 years or so of sporadic religious freedom to France's Protestants, called Huguenots, an industrious segment of French society, were forced to leave. Many came to the United States, settling in such cities as Charleston, SC, and New Rochelle, NY. South Africa saw a great migration of Huguenots, who settled in a region outside of Cape Town known today as Franschhoek, or "Frenchman's Corner." They brought with them grapes, almost certainly including Chenin Blanc, today called Steen in South Africa, where it is the country's most widely planted grape. More Chenin Blanc is planted today in South Africa and the United States than in France.

Potentially high yielding, Chenin Blanc's reputation was damaged by over-cropping and the production of cheap quaffing wines. Other times, it was used to blend with overripe Chardonnay to boost the final blend's acidity. California wines mislabelled "Chablis" may well have contained a good proportion of over-cropped Chenin Blanc. All this accomplished a denigration of such proportions that some judges in competitions would refuse to bestow a gold medal on an outstanding example of the type because the grape was held in such low esteem. Tsk, tsk.

Enter then a competition called Rendez-Vous du Chenin, held annually in France to recognize the best examples of the type. Some years, certain categories get no medals, if the assembled judges agree that no entry is worthy of recognition. So be it. But this competition has served to restore to the best of the bunch the regard this grape deserves. When produced with the proper care, Chenin Blanc can stand up to any test.

The following examples range from the fruit-forward New World styles to the elegant Old World styles. Each sort deserves attention, and will respond to different food-pairing requirements. Serve them chilled, but not ice cold, in tulip-shaped white wine glasses.

Jane Garvey

Food Pairings: White bean dip, fried chicken fingers with Dijon honey mustard dipping sauce; grilled scallops or garlic shrimp with tomato-infused Rйmoulade sauce; cous cous salad with dates and chickpeas; fried cornmeal-crusted catfish; paella, not too hot spicy chicken sosaties (a South African skewered grilled dish) or chicken or pork satay with peanut dipping sauce, four-cheese pizza

Price: $8
Wholesaler: Big Boat Wine Company

Food Pairings: Tarragon-flavored chicken salad; grilled scallops or fried shrimp with Rйmoulade or Tartar sauce; fried catfish or other mild fish with Tartar sauce; avocado stuffed with shrimp salad; chicken pot pie, crab-stuffed flounder, tilapia, shrimp or sole; crab cakes. A consistent "best" winner at the Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition. Apalachiacola oysters with or without lemon are gorgeous with this wine.

Price: $13
Wholesaler: Atlanta Wholesale Wine

Food Pairings: Curried chicken salad with raisins; all sorts of mildly spicy (but not hot) Asian/Indian dishes; avocado stuffed with shrimp salad; chicken salad with mango and chutney; dishes with light ginger; dim sum. Doesn't pair well with simply seasoned fare, as it tends to dominate.

Price: $15
Wholesaler: Atlanta Wholesale Wine

Food Pairings: Cornmeal-crusted catfish, crab cakes, crab-stuffed flounder or shrimp, mild Masasman curries, shrimp and grits, tarragon chicken salad with almonds, fried chicken tenders with Dijon honey mustard, grilled or fried shrimp or oysters with Rйmoulade sauce, bac0n-wrapped grilled scallops, lemon chicken with caramelized onions and black olives. Winery suggests roast lamb, steak and chocolate, all of which seem too weird for words. Georgia rock shrimp would be a better bet.

Price: $23
Wholesaler: Big Boat Wine Co.

François Chidaine Clos Baudoin Vouvray 2004
Vouvray, Loire Valley, France

Score: 94 Points

Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied dry white wine; medium golden straw. Subtle aromas of Golden Delicious apples, with notes of citrus and distinctive minerality joining these Golden Delicious flavors on the palate. Supremely elegant, crisp, with a graceful lingering finish, slight honey note, backed up by lively acidity. The wine is still tight, and will gain generosity and complexity with time. Potential aging, if correctly cellared, for as much as another decade. Neutral oak. Clos Baudoin has been owned by the Poniatowski family, relatives of the last king of Poland, since 1918. Longtime champion of Chenin Blanc, Philippe Poniatowski, who served in the French Rйsistance, has entered into a working relationship with Franзois Chidane, a highly regarded champion of Chenin Blanc from the competing side of the river in Mountlouis, Chidane is an exponent of organic and biodynamic practices.

Food Pairings: Grilled scallops with creamy and slightly spicy sauces, such as Rémoulade, delicate Chinese seafood dishes, not-too-spicy Thai fare, such as Massaman curry; cornmeal-crusted catfish, mild fish with creamy sauces, crab-stuffed fish or shrimp, deep-fried oysters, crab mousse, soft-shell crabs, fish or shrimp and grits, quenelles de brochet

Price: $25
Wholesaler: Lynda Allison Cellar Selections

Food Pairings: Creamy crab mousse; cous cous salad with dates and chickpeas; grilled scallops with Rйmoulade sauce; tarragon chicken salad with almonds, spit-roasted chicken; mild curries (Massaman vry good), mild baked fish with crab stuffing, paella with saffron, goat cheese

Price: $33
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits