Nicolas Reau Anjou Blanc Attention Chenin Mechant Loire, France 2021

Producer: Nicolas Reau

Grape: Chenin Blanc

Where: Anjou, Loire Valley

Country: France

Taste: Nothing like a crisp and refreshing Chenin Blanc from Anjou. Of all the unique Loire valley regions making Chenin, the most unctuous pleasure most certainly comes from here. Yellow, honeyed fruit and tons of salt -- pure pleasure.

Vibes with: Green salads, stinky cheese, fresh seafood.

Biodynamic Farming

.

Additional info: 

He was going to be a jazz pianist and in the end he stuck with wine. He thought that becoming a vigneron was impossible unless you came from a long family tradition of it; however, an advertisement in the school newspaper in 1994 changed his mind.

Four years later, after studying in Montreuil and Bordeaux, and working with several winegrowers in Anjou, in 1998 Nicolas Réau took over 28 hectares in the south of Anjou, in Thouarsais (in the heart of the Loire Valley). Réau soon realized that quantity did not mean quality, and he got rid of part of his estate, keeping only five hectares with the best vines (with an average age of 30 years). With the replanting of two others, Clos des Treilles was born, one of the places where the best natural wines of the country are made.

One of them is Nicolas Réau Attention Chenin Méchant. Nicolas Réau Attention Chenin Méchant is a white wine made in the A.O.C. Anjou.

Made in a very traditional and artisan way, the Chenin Blanc vines (also known as Pineau de la Loire), are cultivated according to biodynamic principles, giving the vines the time they need.

Nicolas Réau Attention Chenin Méchant is made using completely artisan methods. Following a manual harvest, the grapes are gently pressed and the must is aged in used barrels. After alcoholic fermentation with native yeasts and malolactic fermentation, the wine is transferred to cement tanks, where it will finish maturing for three months.

In France it is very common to see the sign ‘Attention, Chien Méchant’ (‘Beware of the dangerous dog’). For this wine, Nicolas Réau has taken this phrase as a little joke to remind us of the risks of trying Nicolas Réau Attention Chenin Méchant. And you know what they say: you can’t say we didn’t warn you. Nicolas Réau Attention Chenin Méchant will have you hooked.