TOP

Jean-Christophe Mandard Touraine Chenonceaux 2023

After last week’s Sancerre from Luc Prieur, this week I head downstream for another Ligérian expression of Sauvignon Blanc, this time from the Touraine Chenonceaux appellation.

Or should that be the Chenonceaux appellation?

Ushered into the world in a 2011 revision of the Touraine appellation, Touraine Chenonceaux is one of five geographical denominations within the broader Touraine appellation (the others being Oisly, also created in 2011, and the rather older Azay-le-Rideau, Amboise and Mesland designations). From the outset the Chenonceaux designation looked like a shoe-in for promotion to appellation status; if nothing else, the quality and potential of the clay-limestone slopes along the Cher, a consistently overlooked terroir crying out for recognition, mean the question had to be asked; should Chenonceaux be more than an enclave within the Touraine appellation? Could it not stand alone?

The region’s growers certainly thought so, and in 2024 at the annual general meeting of the Syndicat des Vins de Touraine Chenonceaux its members agreed to initiate the process of seeking elevation. Work began to define what part of the current area described by the denomination would be eligible for the appellation, and on how it would be further distinguished from generic Touraine and other appellations, one possibility being the prohibition of herbicide use. In November 2025 the Syndicat submitted an application to the INAO (as did, as a quick aside, the growers from the Touraine Amboise denomination). Only two weeks later the Comité Régional of the INAO had formed a group in order to respond to the requests.

Jean-Christophe Mandard Touraine Chenonceaux 2023

So what changes would be tangible in the wines?

Well, for the whites, including this week’s selection, I doubt much would change besides the name of the appellation on the label. The Touraine Chenonceaux denomination is already 100% Sauvignon Blanc in white, and there is no precedent or desire to move away from this; in addition, the regulations concerning viticulture, yields and vinification are already quite strict, much more so than for generic Touraine.

When it comes to the red wines of the proposed Chenonceaux appellation, however, we may see some changes. This is a region that favours Côt over
Cabernet Franc, and at the inception of the geographical denomination back in 2011 the percentage of Côt permitted in the blend was set at a minimum of 65% and a maximum of 80%, with Cabernet Franc making up the remaining 20% to 35%. Under the proposed appellation regulations, however, the region would allow for red wines made from 100% Côt, mirroring what is already permissible in the Amboise denomination. I think this is a smart move, further distinguishing these two appellations from the ‘norm’ within the region, and there is a lot of untapped potential for Côt in this region, under the region’s increasingly warm climate.

I wish the Amboise and Chenonceaux growers good luck in securing their independent existence; both zones certainly deserve a higher profile and surely having their own appellations will, with time, only help in this.

This week’s wine is an example of the Touraine Chenonceaux denomination from Jean-Christophe Mandard. Jean-Christophe took hold of the reins, passed down to him by his father, in 1993, and today he farms 27 hectares of vineyards, aided by his son Jean-Baptiste. Their 2023 Touraine Chenonceaux is naturally 100% Sauvignon Blanc, sourced from 2 hectares of vines on slopes high above the Cher, the juice vinified in stainless steel, with six months élevage on the lees. After that it has seen a couple of years in bottle before I pulled the cork. It presents a pale straw hue in the glass, and an enticing nose of rich citrus fruits and a little white peach, infused with a chalky mineral freshness. The palate shows what sets this denomination apart from standard Touraine Sauvignon, with an upfront textural concentration, the palate rounded out through the middle, carrying delicious citrus-fruit substance with a vivacious structure. This is nicely balanced, complete and rather long in the finish, evidence of the benevolence of the 2023 vintage for the early-picked varieties. Drink now and over the next two or three years. The alcohol is 14% on the label. 92/100

This is a good example of the level of quality Sauvignon can achieve in the Touraine region, and while I generally avoid suggesting one appellation as a substitute for another, if you enjoy drinking Central Vineyard Sauvignon I would certainly suggest that exploration of the Touraine Chenonceaux denomination – or Chenonceaux appellation, if you are reading this five or ten years in the future – could pay dividends. (31/8/26)

Read more in:

Find Jean-Christophe Mandard Touraine Chenonceaux 2023 on Wine Searcher:

Find all Jean-Christophe Mandard wines on Wine Searcher: