Domaine Cady, 2017 Update
One of my earliest introductions to the sweet wines of the Loire Valley came courtesy of Domaine Cady. At this time the hand on the tiller was that of Philippe Cady, who after taking over from his father in 1979 did much to move the domaine away from a polycultural philosophy to focus purely on the vine. His wines were frequently of excellent quality, and great value. The 1997 vintage was particularly strong here, and I confess as I line up some 1997s from the Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume appellations for drinking, now that they have hit twenty years of age, I am regretful that I didn’t manage to keep back one or two bottles from Domaine Cady. But that’s the problem with these wines; sometimes it can be difficult to keep one’s hands off them.
Today Philippe has yielded control of the domaine to his son Alexandre, and happily the wines have remained exciting and interesting. Of course some things have changed since those early discoveries. Today the domaine has grown to 28 hectares in size, of which 10 hectares along the banks of the Layon are planted to Chenin Blanc, for making both Anjou and Coteaux du Layon. The entire domaine is organic, having been certified as such by ECOCERT in 2014. And while the sweet wines remain a very strong component of the portfolio, there are also some interesting dry wines that are worthy of some attention.
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