Domaine de la Taille aux Loups
Domaine de la Taille aux Loups is certainly one of the most significant domaines of Touraine and is, alongside the domaine of François Chidaine, an obvious candidate for appellation leader in Montlouis-sur-Loire. And yet this is a very young domaine, established only twenty-or-so years ago. For most of those years it was home to the late Jacky Blot (1948 – 2023), although it was not he who established it; frequently overlooked, the viticultural maverick who brought La Taille aux Loups into being was a man from Bordeaux named Christian Prudhomme.
Prudhomme clearly wanted to make waves in Montlouis-sur-Loire; having worked for the Rothschilds in the vineyards and cellars of Château Mouton-Rothschild, and also at Opus One in California, his curriculum vitae suggested he was up to the job. In 1988, having acquired 7 hectares of old vines scattered about the appellation, he set about making wine his way. This meant reducing yields by crop thinning, harvesting into tiny crates to protect the fruit and fermenting using indigenous yeasts, in barrels purchased from Château d’Yquem. The wines produced were reputedly a testament to the wild dedication he exhibited. So it seemed something of a vinous tragedy when the business collapsed within a year or two of starting up. But this is the point in which Jacky Blot (pictured) entered the story.
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