Tasting Note

A brilliant sweet Chenin Blanc from 1985, aromas of sherry, musky mushroom notes and a raisin quality too. The palate is lovely, again some more oxidised sherry flavours but with a little sweetness creeping through.

Producer

Whilst the family Touchais cannot claim to have pioneered the production of moelleux, their ancestors were certainly making wine as far back as 1787. That’s eight generations so far, and counting… The first six were situated not within the town, but in Tigné, the location of the original Moulin and it was from here that the original vineyard holding was built up, mostly to support the requirements for Cuisse de Bergère, a hugely successful inexpensive branded rosé that was developed by Joseph Touchais in the late 1940s and around the same period the business was transferred to the cellars in Doué-La-Fontaine.

The family still own an impressive 150 hectares of vines, spanning the communes of Tigné and Martigné-Briand, although the death of Joseph ten years ago saw the company split into two divisions; Vignobles Touchais, which retains 35 hectares of Chenin Blanc in the Coteaux-du-Layon appellation for the continued production of Moulin Touchais, whilst the other, Vin Touchais, is a trading company responsible for selling off the balance of the production in bulk to the larger Loire négoce; which is mostly vinified as base wine for Méthode Traditionelle.

The current incumbent is the 61 year old Jean-Marie Touchais, who took complete control of the winemaking from his father in 1990. Little has changed in the viticulture and vinification process and Jean-Marie continues with the traditional values of low yields, hand harvesting and a long, slow fermentation. The general principle behind the picking of grapes for Moulin Touchais is that around one-quarter of the crop is harvested relatively early (about 80 days after flowering) and whilst the fruit is slightly under-ripe. This component part helps to maintain the acidity in the final blend.

_{Country: France | Coteaux du Layon, Loire | Alcohol: TBC | Grapes: Chenin Blanc | Family Producer | Contains Sulphites}