François Chidaine, 2015 Update
A quietly impassioned grower dedicated to his vineyards and committed to the philosophy of biodynamics, François Chidaine decided a few years ago to upgrade his winemaking facilities. In fact, it was more than an upgrade; he built a brand new winery, just across the road from the original Chidaine family domaine on La Grande Rue in Husseau. It was a sign, I thought, that he was no less committed to getting the best from his fruit during the vinifications as he was when it was still hanging out on the vines.
In a cruel twist of fate, no sooner had François undertaken this very significant investment, Montlouis-sur-Loire (and many other Loire Valley regions) suffered several short vintages of very low yields. François was hit hard first by heavy rain and mildew, then by hail of all things. Yields even lower than his norm (biodynamic vineyards such as his always have lower yields to start with) were the inevitable result, and this led to significant financial insecurity for François. Although not loudly trumpeted, a number of lots listed by Christie’s in a wine auction in March 2015 were sold in aid of François; they had been donated by various members of the Union des Gens du Métier, an association created in 1989 by the late Didier Dagueneau. He brought together a group of like-minded vignerons, those who saw something of value in the humanist and traditional principles extolled by Henri Jayer, who was of course a huge inspiration to a young Didier. The auction included 33 lots from Clos Rougeard in Saumur-Champigny, Marc Roulot in Meursault and many others.
It was thus a rather content François Chidaine (pictured) that I met up with earlier this year. We might assume this was because he knew he had friends he could lean on for support, but in truth I think he was simply happier having a decent vintage under his belt. The growing season during 2014 had been much more favourable, giving him 30 hl/ha in Montlouis-sur-Loire and 20 hl/ha in Vouvray. These might not look like stupendous yields but for a biodynamic grower they are very reasonable (especially in Montlouis-sur-Loire), and they are better than the 22 hl/ha and 15 hl/ha the two appellations gave him in 2013. The flowering had been straightforward, the fruit showed fine homogeneity, and the maturity had been good at picking, François told me. And, with his subsequent election to the office of president of the Fédération des Associations Viticoles d’Indre-et-Loire et de la Sarthe, things were clearly looking up for François.
There’s a saying though; whenever one door closes, another one opens. Or is it the other way around? Whenever one door opens, perhaps another one is slammed in your face?
