Francois Chidaine Touraine Gamay 2022

Beginning in 2014, French wine officials came and inspected both men’s cellars before ruling that neither were allowed to use ‘Vouvray’ on their labels anymore. Instead, they mandated that for a wine to be labeled Vouvray, it had to be made inside Vouvray’s borders, not just made from grapes grown inside Vouvray’s borders. All of a sudden, they went from ‘Vouvray’ wines to ‘Vin de France.’ Game over? Not quite.

Both guys continued to sell their wines — just without the coveted ‘Vouvray’ in the name. It could’ve spelled the end, but luckily, even under the ‘Vin de France’ moniker, everybody who knew these two great estates knew exactly what was in the bottle. Their sales continued to be just fine.

But while Chidaine’s white wines might have made him famous, he has always had the goal of making the best Red wine in the Loire. Not just the best Red, but the best Gamay — a tall feat given how great Cru Beauloais and Fleurie can be. But François is not like most people. He searched and searched for the perfect spot to grow Gamay in the Touraine for eight years(!) until he finally found a tiny little horseshoe vineyard hidden from all roads and rich with an abundance of different soil types mixed together, a la Beaujolais. He believes he has finally found the place that will help him achieve his ultimate goal.

This is the sixth vintage of the Chidaine Gamay. In the first three years, François sold off the juice as bulk because he didn’t like his end result. Year four, he finally bottled it. Last year, he predicted that he was on the cusp of a breakthrough. This year’s bottling is 100% ready for the big stage. It’s an incredible Tuesday Nighter, an ideal wine for Thanksgiving and just an all around fun bottle to drink.