Domaine de Juchepie, 2020 Update
While Anjou is undeniably a hotspot for the development of Chenin Blanc’s new cult status, with wines from the likes of Richard Leroy, Stéphane Bernaudeau and one or two others now changing hands for prices previously unimagined, there are still a number of domaines which continue to turn out wines of comparably exciting style and great quality but which remain overlooked and unappreciated by cult-label chasers. One of these is Domaine de Juchepie, home for as long as I have known the domaine to Eddy Oosterlinck and his wife Mileine.
The domaine’s reputation is undoubtedly built on Eddy’s sweet wines, all of which have the Coteaux du Layon Faye appellation, with a portfolio which ranges from the gently moelleux entry-level cuvée that is Les Churelles, through a number of brilliantly botrytised and increasingly sweet wines, up to the pinnacle of the portfolio which is Quintessence, made only in very special vintages. While superb these wines are guilty of overshadowing the domaine’s dry wines, which are of fine quality and which age well, certainly matching the performance put in by many of the region’s more famous names.
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