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ORIGINAL: ChrisinCowiche

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ORIGINAL: Jenise


Speaking of chenin they excel in the sweeter realm too. I like Sauternes--a lot--but sweet chenins are more intriguing. A local store had three of the 2018 Huet Le Mont Premiere Tries on their shelf and I patiently waited months until the annual 15% off everything sale on February 1st before I swept in and took them all for low $40's.

It's sometimes useful to move bottles to the back of a shelf and put a row of cheap plonk in front. Or better yet move them to the cereal aisle behind the shredded wheat. This last one is harder to do in a dedicated wine shop.

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ORIGINAL: grafstrb

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ORIGINAL: Sean McGrath

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ORIGINAL: grafstrb

Do we have an audience for Chenin here? ... spirited discussion elsewhere suggests we do! I thought it would be fun to have an ongoing discussion here --- Chenin is worthy of its own thread.

So, who's a fan? Why? How did you come into Chenin? --- it's not exactly as ubiquitous as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. What do you love (or hate!) about it? Particular food pairings where Chenin kills it?

Interesting, I just checked my cellar report: I have thirty-eight different "master varieties" in my cellar, and not one bottle of Chenin Blanc!

Aside from maybe sparkling, it is never really spoken to me (I only know the Loire, not the SA). Out of curiosity, are you mostly speaking about the off-dry from the Loire, or what type do you mostly go for?

Well, I'm interested in talking about Chenin in all of its forms from every corner of the world. As for myself, I tend towards the dry versions from the Loire.

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ORIGINAL: wineismylife

Just picked up 6 x 2019 Sadie Family Skurfberg Olifants River Valley.

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ORIGINAL: wineismylife

Just picked up 6 x 2019 Sadie Family Skurfberg Olifants River Valley.

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ORIGINAL: grafstrb

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ORIGINAL: lockestep

I was drinking Chenin back in the late 1970s. This was before Chardonnay became the Cool Kid and the must drink white wine. I need to go diving in my old notebooks and see who I really liked back then.
Today Sandlands is filling that slot for me. I’m trying to hold out and get 5+ years on some bottles. I think it will be more than worth it, but with small allocations and being pretty tasty now, it is hard to hold off. I do have 1 bottle left of the 15 Lodi and 3 of the 16 Amador, so some have made it.

I would *love* to hear which Chenins you were drinking back in the day! Sandlands I have not yet tried, but it's at the top of my domestic list, with William Kelley's "Beau Rivage" right behind it, as ones I want to try.

How would you compare the Sandlands to examples from the Loire?

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ORIGINAL: lockestep

Finally pulled out my old notes from the late 70's. The best two that early 20's me left notes on were Alexander Valley Vineyards and Beringer. Had kind of a poor showing from Mondavi on the other hand.
If you handed me a glass of Sandlands Amador and told me it was French, I would guess Anjou, not Vouvray.

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ORIGINAL: BenG

Hey Grafstrb (did I pronounce that right?),

I noticed you bought some Chappellet Dry Chenin Blanc and looking back through its TNs, it seems they produced dry Chenin Blanc for a few decades, stopped around 2004 (I read they pulled out their vines and replanted in 2009) and started up again in 2019. There are a few TNs that gave some older vintages high accolades for cellaring beyond 20 years. Did you get any sense that the modern iteration of Chappellet Dry Chenin Blanc will age?

Shane

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ORIGINAL: lockestep

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ORIGINAL: grafstrb

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ORIGINAL: lockestep

I was drinking Chenin back in the late 1970s. This was before Chardonnay became the Cool Kid and the must drink white wine. I need to go diving in my old notebooks and see who I really liked back then.
Today Sandlands is filling that slot for me. I’m trying to hold out and get 5+ years on some bottles. I think it will be more than worth it, but with small allocations and being pretty tasty now, it is hard to hold off. I do have 1 bottle left of the 15 Lodi and 3 of the 16 Amador, so some have made it.

I would *love* to hear which Chenins you were drinking back in the day! Sandlands I have not yet tried, but it's at the top of my domestic list, with William Kelley's "Beau Rivage" right behind it, as ones I want to try.

How would you compare the Sandlands to examples from the Loire?

Finally pulled out my old notes from the late 70's. The best two that early 20's me left notes on were Alexander Valley Vineyards and Beringer. Had kind of a poor showing from Mondavi on the other hand.
If you handed me a glass of Sandlands Amador and told me it was French, I would guess Anjou, not Vouvray.

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ORIGINAL: fingers

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ORIGINAL: lockestep

Finally pulled out my old notes from the late 70's. The best two that early 20's me left notes on were Alexander Valley Vineyards and Beringer. Had kind of a poor showing from Mondavi on the other hand.
If you handed me a glass of Sandlands Amador and told me it was French, I would guess Anjou, not Vouvray.

cue: Seinfeld
Not that there's anything wrong with that

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ORIGINAL: ImUrHuckleberry

Any thoughts on if a dry unoaked Loire chenin blanc would pair well with seared scallops? Likely butter and lemon, but I could mix that up a bit to make it work better with chenin blanc. (Normally I would go with White Burgundy or a N. Coast chardonnay for scallops, but I'm in the mood for a chenin blanc.

I've searched a bit online, but it's hard to tell because there are many styles of Loire chenin blanc.

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ORIGINAL: grafstrb

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ORIGINAL: ImUrHuckleberry

Any thoughts on if a dry unoaked Loire chenin blanc would pair well with seared scallops? Likely butter and lemon, but I could mix that up a bit to make it work better with chenin blanc. (Normally I would go with White Burgundy or a N. Coast chardonnay for scallops, but I'm in the mood for a chenin blanc.

I've searched a bit online, but it's hard to tell because there are many styles of Loire chenin blanc.

dry Chenin from the Loire is, possibly, my *favorite* wine to pair with scallops (if not Champagne). Let us know how it goes for you!

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ORIGINAL: ImUrHuckleberry

Any thoughts on if a dry unoaked Loire chenin blanc would pair well with seared scallops? Likely butter and lemon, but I could mix that up a bit to make it work better with chenin blanc. (Normally I would go with White Burgundy or a N. Coast chardonnay for scallops, but I'm in the mood for a chenin blanc.

I've searched a bit online, but it's hard to tell because there are many styles of Loire chenin blanc.

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ORIGINAL: ImUrHuckleberry

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ORIGINAL: grafstrb

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ORIGINAL: ImUrHuckleberry

Any thoughts on if a dry unoaked Loire chenin blanc would pair well with seared scallops? Likely butter and lemon, but I could mix that up a bit to make it work better with chenin blanc. (Normally I would go with White Burgundy or a N. Coast chardonnay for scallops, but I'm in the mood for a chenin blanc.

I've searched a bit online, but it's hard to tell because there are many styles of Loire chenin blanc.

dry Chenin from the Loire is, possibly, my *favorite* wine to pair with scallops (if not Champagne). Let us know how it goes for you!

Thanks. I asked kind of last minute and hadn't heard back from anybody so I went for it. It worked very nice. I kept the scallops very simple, seared in oil and butter and then squeezed lemon juice on them and salt/pepper to taste. Had broccoli and couscous as sides.

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ORIGINAL: grafstrb

couple weeks ago I found one worth adding to the Rebuy list: Chateau Yvonne, out of Saumur. Tried both the 2020 and 2021, just the standard Saumur blanc.