Loire Valley Chenin Blanc: a style guide

Lovely golden yellow in colour, with the aromas intensely suggesting wet wool, hazlenuts and honeyed apples. In the mouth there's an oily, viscous quality; the bubbles are very light, almost not there. Very vinous, with high, laser sharp acid. It's in some ways savoury and in other ways full of sweet baked apples, peaches and apple pie. A pleasant touch of bitter walnut skin tickles the finish. The alcohol is a little noticeable but the richness and intensity keep it in balanace. Amazing value for money!

The aromas kick start with vibrant green apples, lemon peel, caramelised peaches, and a gorgeously decadent tart tatin. They swirl and evolve into toasted brioche with honey, orange and lemon rind and a stony, mineral quality. It doesn't stop there; the profile changes again with another whirl of the glass, this time suggesting porridge, oaty fruit crunch and baked apples. And that's just on the nose. When you finally take a sip the mousse is very light, there's that wet wool tone again and an oily, rich mouthfeel. Lots going on here, toasty, leesy, yeasty notes come through at the back along with a touch of pithy grip. An excellent balance of concentration of flavour with richness. The acidty is only sitting at around medium plus, but it has great varietal character.

Slight reduction peeping through on the nose, a with a touch of wet wool and some oily, lanolin tones. Coupled with appley, yeasty attributes, this is immediately very Chenin-like. The palate begins with an apple-led attack, borne on the sails of a super zippy acid line and culminating in a pithy finish. There is an oaty crumble element and a creamy mouthfeel that is cut through by that singing acid. The finish is long, full, and the sweet golden delicious apple note stay with you till the very end.

Lightly toasty on the nose with green apples, jasmine and white blossom characters. In the mouth there is a soft, delicate, lightly creamy mousse and flavours of toasted brioche spread with honey. The texture is full and oily but the acidity is refreshing enough to carry it through. The dosage feels fairly high as there is a rich sweet sensation. Coming from fairly flat vineyards on flint soils, the vines are actually located in the Touraine area, east of Azay le Rideau. The estate was sold to Champagne house Deutz in 1973 and then again in 2002 to the current owners. Marielle Henriolle takes the reins here, having cut her teeth in Champagne at the likes of Pommery and Bollinger.

A lovely example of sparkling Chenin. The nose is subtley floral and appley. Apple flesh, white peach, jasmine, honeysuckle and toast all combine playfully in the mouth. The acidity provides a seamless balance and allows the yeasty, toasty, brioche flavours to come through. With its freshness, creamy mousse and appleyness, this is a delicious sip.

Ripe yellow plums and toasted brioche come together on the nose and play with light flecks of white blossom. In the mouth it's zingy and fresh, but still has a richness to it. The acidity is high, whilst there is a grip to the finish that makes it refreshing, long and pithy. This reminds me of juicy Golden Delicious apples and croissants. Very drinkable.

Starting off with yellow and red apples and ripe pears, this evolves into slightly herbal, sage tones. There's toast, smoke and wet wool too, and a light floral touch peeking through. It treads a lovely balance between a grippy, bitter palate, beautiful mineral tension, and elegant richness. It's austere and linear, and clearly very youthful so will develop and evolve with time. Harvesting by hand, using natural yeastts and low amounts of sulphur, Damien Laureau has crafted some superb examples of Chenin.

This really is Chenin to the letter. Buckets of fresh juicy peaches drizzled with honey, and bruised apples sprinkled with honeycomb. The aromas keep on coming - fresh apples, butterscotch, hay, cream cheese and dried mango. This is full of freshness. A magnetic balance between the richness of peach and apple pie, and electric, tingly acidit. A driving force, this wine is energetic, racy and dynamic and the bottle is quickly empty.

Such complexity! The nose is just oozing with butterkissed popcorn, cheese and greek yoghurt dolloped thickly onto fresh pineapples, bananas, white peaches and juicy nectarines. It reminds me of a peach melba or peach yogurt, sprinkled with honeycomb, drizzled with butterscotch, all sat on a bed of wet stones. The flavours reflect all this tenfold, dialed up a notch. And then in steps fine-lined acidity asking you to dance and sweeping you off your feet. There is a mineral undertow, a suggestion of wet stones, like a babbling brook over pebbles. The flavour concentration fills the mouth, it's full bodied and grippy. There's a sense of some botrytis on the finish from the apricot and mushroom character.

Such intesnsity on the nose of bright shiny Granny Smith apples, cooking apples and quince, with delicate licks of pecans, hay and blossom, giving the impression of an orchard at sundown. Elegant and precise. Bright and singing. The palate again has that savoury, hay element, and combined with really mouth-watering acidity it's a moreish mouthful. There's a real pithy bitterness to even out the rounded richness and well-integrated oak. Good length.

White peach, lemon rind, yellow apple skin and grapefruit combine effortlessly with wet rocks and talc to give a chalky, irresitible sip. There's honeysuckle and blossom melting into confit lemon, lemon curd, and apple flesh. A succulent, mouthwatering, pithy, tense wine that betrays its grape and its place wiilingly. A sublimely balanced wine that shows a nervy, energetic, side of Chenin. Having started out as a forester, Frantz Saumon made the switch to winemaking and bottled his first wine in 2002, consistently concentrating on organic and biodynamic viticulture.

Open and intense on the nose, filling the nostrils with jasmine, lillies and white blossom. It oozes with juicy peaches dunked into the honeypot. There is a sweet delicacy on the palate, and a slightly oily texture fills the mouth. An ounce of bitterness adds interest on the finish. The acidity isn't as high as initially expected, but it's a nice drop.

A nose designed to entice: sweet peaches, jasmine, honeysuckle, poached juicy pears and a creamy richness. In the mouth it's full bodied and rich, almost viscous, but it's certainly dry with sky high and soaring acidity. Tropical fruit makes an appearance after a few sips, mainly fresh juicy pineapple. The finish pulsates with rich creaminess, a touch of lanolin and finally a flinty, stony lift at the end.

Sublte hints of apples, chinese pear, peach and pineapple, with some straw and wet stones - all quietly present and unobtrusive. This then leads to a surpirsing swallow as buttered popcorn appears on the palate, but it's a pleasant surprise. Despite this creamy, leesy sensation, the wine finishes dry and grippy, with only medium acidity.

Delicately floral aromas with great swathes of white peach, almond, hay and a creamy smokiness which then translate smoothly onto the palate. It is round and rich in the mouth, but this is balanced nicely by high acidity and a lovely phenolic, bitter character on the finish. A new creation for Alexandre Cady, this wine is unusual in that it was vinified in 225L barriques Bordelaises.

A complex combination of aromas emerge from the glass, encompassing toast, wet wool and white rice, with an oily, kerosene aroma lying underneath ripe apple and peach fruit. In the mouth the wine feels grippy, tense and energetic. It is lean and austere with crystal sharp acidity, but has a richness and ripeness to the fruit which brings balance. The grapes were picked selectively due to variable ripeness within the bunches, and the wine was fermented in 500L barrels. Based in St Nicolas de Bourgeuil, talented winemaker Frederic Mabileau passed away in 2020. Having long wanted to work with Chenin, he found 1ha of vines in Saumur, from which this wine comes.

A real variation of aromas coming from the glass here, with some classic apples, fresh lemons and lemon rind combined with rhubarb, pineapple and a cheesy, leesy note. These are reflected on the palate and the package is tied up with a flick of high acifity.

A fruit-forward edition that speaks of white flowers, peaches, apricots, and a grapey intensity. The acidity brings a smiling brightness to the palate. This is young and tight, there is grippyness along the teeth and it needs time to mellow and relax into itself, which it certainly has the potential to do. Watch this space.

The nose shows hay and apple pie all tumbled up inside soft white peaches. The palate is more about golden delicous and pink lady apples, tart apple flesh, and baskets of other orchard fruits. It's round in the mouth, and then the acidity sweeps away your tongue and leaves a grippy sensation. A slight metallic tint is disconcerting. The concentration of flavour could be more intense, but it's a simple and effective Chenin.

Peach yoghurt and orange blossom aromas give this a sunny character. There is something reminiscient of sour milk on the nose, but it's not unpleasant. The touch of residual sugar on the palate lends a lovely playful touch as it dances across the tongue. The acidity gently sweeps away the sweetness on the finish. Great as an aperitif or to enjoy with a classic Loire dish of creamy pork and prunes.

Ripe peaches and apricots, honey and yellow apple skin. Not huge aromas. The palate is enjoyable, there's the honeyed tone, the medium plus acidity, the tiny bit of grip and a tiny bit of bitterness. There isn't loads of complexity, but a good aperitif.

The aromas don't give much away here, but the palate speaks of a little honeysuckle, jasmine and honey. Apples and ripe peaches come through, and the sweetness on the palate is noticeable. General ripe fruit flavours fill the mouth, and it's a pleasant sip. Some savoury tones appear on the finish, as well as a light bitterness.

Disctinctly orange-coloured in the glass, with an intense and beguiling bouquet. There's a definite savoury element to the fore: lanolin, hay and a touch of smoke. The palate is enticing, fiery, with ginger and candied orange peel dripping from the glass. The flavours evolve as they float across the tongue - now dried orange, now almond, now panettone. It's rich and thick in the mouth and reminds me of apricot jam or marmalade. The acidity could be a little higher to sweet away this sweetness, but it feels in balance.

The wine is a glinting golden colour in the glass. There is real intensity of aromas here, which increase again with a big swirl of the glass, giving a rich and heady scent of grilled honeyed peaches, apricot and frangipane tart, yellow plums, jasmine, honeysuckle, orange blossom and fresh orange zest. there is also that dried, candied peel and mushroom undertone which makes it seductive. The consistency is thick and delciously decadent, with great flashes of orange and pineapple. Spice and vanilla tail off onto the finish. Very hard not to take another sip because the acidity makes your mouth water!

Each aroma stand outs individually and is very identifiable: fresh yellow apple flesh, juicy pears, pineapple and green apple skin interminle intriguilingly with almonds and marzipan. There's an exciting contrast between fresh fruit, and dried, honeyed fruit. Some wet wool notes come and go. Really fresh acidity gives tangy orange characters. It's starting to show baked apple and tarte tatin, but this is still a baby, it has much devleopment to come. Domaine Huet, which practises biodynamic techniques, is reowned for its sweet moelleux wines and it pays to wait for them to come into their own.

Intense and savoury on the nose, with lanolin, a hint of kerosene and confit lemons and limes. With some air, pastry, almond, orange peel, honey, peaches and apriots all emerge from their slumber. There is even some vanilla, clove and toast. On the palate the acidity is sharp. The sweetness rolls around the mouth and slips away delicately as the acidty creeps in to freshen it up. Rich. Seductive. Sultry. This estate owns a large vineyard area in the Bonnezeaux appellation.

The nose is putting forth that unmistakably lovely noble rot intrigue. A bit of marzipan, a bit of mushroom, some candied peel and those characterful lanolin and wet wool tones that Chenin owns so unashamedly. There's a lick of vanilla and spice too. In the mouth there's a lot of flavour, it's rich and lively. It fills the mouth with nectarines and apricots soaked in runny honey. There's a lot of sweetness but it's lovingly tempered by a gorgeous mouthfeel that's silky, full and grippy. The acidity sneaks in at the end to elgonate the finish. A lovely wine.

White mushroom and savoury hazlenut aromas mingle with honey and acacia, whislt the palate is bursting with fresh ripe apricot and peach, yellow plums, dried apricots and honey. There's a lovely lifting acidity which help the mango, candied peel and nutmeg notes to tail off onto the finish. It holds its 130g/L of residual sugar extremely well and is an impressive wine for the price point. At under £15 you could buy this for a dinner party and impress your friends when you bring it out alongisde the salty cheese or tarte tatin that it's screaming out for.

A lovely golden colour with a tiny peachy tint. It's lightly aromatic, with those juxtaposed savoury-sweet characters of botrytis lurking in the background. The sweetness hits the toungue, then the palate reveals candied peel, and both fresh and dried apricots. The flavours are subtle, honeyed peaches and white blossom emerging shyly. There's certainly room for ageing here, worth coming back to it in a few years. Domanie Cady is run by fourth generation winemakers who make a range of wines but their location and know-how means Coteaux du Layon wines are their speciality.

Combining both floral freshness, and ripe honeyed sweetness on the nose, this is quite enticing. There's blossom and honeysuckle but also some freshy juicy pear and apple. There's a creamy vanilla complexity under there somewhere too. In the mouth it's full, both ripe and fresh. It is definitely sweet, but the texture lends another dimension that distracts you from the sweetness. There's not a lot of evidence of botrytis here, so maybe it wasn't affected?