Chateau Pierre-Bise

Claude Papin is a Loire icon and a thoroughly engaging conversationalist to boot. Andrew Jefford calls him a "poet of Chenin Blanc", and Jancis Robinson MW “one of the most talented wine growers in this part of the world, a true vine technician”.  His approach to Chenin could be summed up in his own words: “The Chenin is made by botrytization. If there isn’t any, it always makes hard wine. Even my dry wines are made with about 50% botrytization. This translates in the wine as honeyed notes.”

Claude's wines are not always the easiest to appreciate. The presence of some botrytis in a dry wine and a slightly oxidative winemaking style produces complex, intellectual wines that often require time, food and thought. They are well worth the effort though, as any true fan of Loire wines will tell you.