2008 Francois Chidaine Montlouis Brut Nature, Loire Valley

The last time we offered a back vintage of Chidaine’s exceptional sparkling was with the 2005, which arrived in 2018. That wine was a revelation; we were not aware that Chidaine was bottle-aging a parcel of his Montlouis brut. The 2008, from a year François describes as exceptional for his sparkling wines (and for Champagne, by the way), is even better.

Chidaine is widely acknowledged in France as one of the Loire Valley’s great sparkling-wine craftsmen, not least by Benjamin Dagueneau (who enlisted Chidaine’s help when trialling his own sparkling). This wine goes some way to explaining the accolade. It’s a pure, complex and elegant release that expresses the chalky terroir of its origin through an abundance of salty, marine and truffle aromas and flavours. The palate is still firmly structured, with great purity and persistent minerality. Grab some while it lasts!