Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon 1985

Who: Moulin Touchais
Where: Loire Valley, France
What: Sweet Chenin Blanc

Founded in 1787, Moulin Touchais has been passed down through eight generations of vignerons. The estate is renowned for producing a sweet Chenin that is aged a minimum of 10 years in their seemingly endless cellars. This tradition was born following the second World War when wine had little value and was very difficult to sell. Once the market began to rebound and the estate finally released their cellared stocks, they noticed that long-term ageing had resulted in a gorgeous evolution in bottle, and thus, 10 years became the minimum amount of time a vintage must be in cellar prior to release. The estate is one of the few that offers a range of vintages, often 30-40 years old or older!

The longevity and complexity of Moulin Touchais wines are linked to a harvesting strategy where 20% of the grapes are picked around 80 days after flowering when the fruit is slightly under-ripe and loaded with acidity, and the remaining 80% is harvested in multiple passes as late as 100-120 days after flowering, which generally yields fruit with very high concentration and sugar levels.

The 1985 has 95g/L residual sugar.