Montlouis sur Loire Les Hauts de Husseau 2024 La Taille aux Loups

The Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Hauts de Husseau 2024 from Domaine de la Taille aux Loups is the flagship cuvée of a domaine that has helped establish Montlouis-sur-Loire among Loire's greatest appellations, sourced from the freshest and most precise terroir of the appellation. A Loire Chenin from calcareous soils, built on very old vines of remarkable energy, with sculpted acidity and sublime bitter notes. A wine made to age.

Terroir and vines

The four small parcels that make up Les Hauts de Husseau sit on the upper reaches of Montlouis, above the hamlet of Husseau where Jacky Blot, the domaine's founder, settled in the late 1980s. This cooler, later-ripening terroir is geologically homogeneous: thin soils with some flint-clay at the surface, then quickly, sometimes even exposed, the tuffeau limestone bedrock. This exposed limestone gives the wine its sculpted structure and saline frame, its tension and distinctive empyreumatic purity. The vines, over 70 years old, are farmed under certified organic practices, without herbicides or synthetic chemicals. Harvesting is entirely manual with rigorous table selection, and grapes are picked at full maturity on the second pass. Winemaking is minimalist, in the tradition established by Jacky Blot: slow fermentation with wild yeasts, no chaptalisation or inoculation, ageing of 16 to 18 months in barrels of average age five years, renewed at 10 percent annually, on fine lees. No malolactic fermentation, to preserve the natural tension and freshness of the terroir.

Tasting profile

The robe is pale golden yellow with green glints, limpid and crystalline. The nose opens on white flowers, acacia blossom, citrus and white-fleshed fruits, lemon, pear, quince, underscored by the saline minerality characteristic of tuffeau. With aeration, notes of ripe wheat, gentle spices, and a light smoky touch bring growing complexity and depth. On the palate, vibrancy strikes immediately: the acidity is sculpted and refined, without harshness, carrying ample matter of remarkable balance. The texture is both generous and taut, with remarkable density driven by ripe acidity and citrus notes. Sublime bitter notes on the finish sign the limestone minerality of the terroir with precision and persistence that extends into a saline, bouncing finale. A Chenin for the cellar, to be kept at least five to six years to reveal its full potential, and capable of magnificent evolution over fifteen to twenty years.

The domaine

Domaine de la Taille aux Loups was founded by Jacky Blot, a charismatic and visionary figure of the Loire vineyard, who passed away in May 2023. Trained alongside Nicolas Joly at Coulée de Serrant, he became a major architect of the quality renaissance of Montlouis-sur-Loire, which he considered capable of rivalling the world's greatest Chenins. Since his death, his son Jean-Philippe leads the 45-hectare domaine with the same conviction and precision as his father, supported by a committed technical and cultural team. This cuvée, formerly called Remus Plus, was renamed Les Hauts de Husseau without any change to the winemaking, preserving the elegant and vibrant style that embodied Jacky Blot's vision.

Food pairings

This Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Hauts de Husseau pairs beautifully with sea bass tartare with citrus and pink peppercorns, fine oysters, steamed scallops, roasted turbot with beurre blanc, grilled langoustines with tarragon, poultry in light cream, or aged goat cheeses such as Sainte-Maure de Touraine. Serve between 10 and 12 °C with 30 minutes of decanting recommended in its youth to reveal all the mineral tension, limestone purity, and complexity of one of Loire's greatest dry Chenins.