Domaine Taille aux Loups, Les Hauts de Husseau 2016

Hauts de Husseau (formerly Remus Plus) Renamed for the 2015 vintage, Hauts de Husseau is a single plot of 70-90 year old vines chosen for its interesting geology. It is the highest vineyard in the appellation with very thin flinty soils covering a bed of limestone. The wines are racy, precise and taut but also highly refined.

In 1988, Jacky Blot set up this Domaine attempting to drag the Montlouis appellation out of the shadows of its neighbour, Vouvray. Jacky is one of the world’s greatest exponents of the Chenin Blanc variety, his 45 hectares of vines are planted with nothing else. His viticultural philosophy sees him working closely with nature; fertilisation is now an extinct practice, chemical treatments are practically non-existent and pruning is radically short, keeping yields down to an average 25 hl/ha. At harvest time picking is by hand, successive tris are undertaken and a severe grape selection is carried out. The wines are then vinified in Bordeaux barriques, both new and old (depending on the particular cuvée) in cool rock-hewn cellars. In Taille aux Loups Jacky has created a domaine that clearly demonstrates the potential Chenin has for producing some of the world’s greatest, and longest lived white wines.

Jacky echews malo-lactic fermentation in all his cuvees which gives these wines a wonderfully racy, precise clear cut feel and equips them well for long ageing in bottle. Fermentation and elevage is carried out in barriques and all his cuvees receive the same oak treatment: 20% new, then equal parts one, two, three and four years old barriques.