When to drink a Chinon?
Loire · indicative values: the producer, the vintage and storage conditions come first.
Chinon
Red
Recommended ageing: 3 to 12 years after the vintage.
For example, a 2020 red Chinon drinks best between 2023 and 2033, with a peak plateau around 2027-2031.
White
Recommended ageing: 1 to 6 years after the vintage.
For example, a 2020 white Chinon drinks best between 2021 and 2027, with a peak plateau around 2023-2026.
Rosé
Recommended ageing: 0 to 2 years after the vintage.
For example, a 2024 rosé Chinon drinks best between 2024 and 2026, with a peak plateau around 2025-2026.
Vintage by vintage
A great year outlives an average one: the window moves with the vintage. The most recent rated years in Loire, applied to the ageing for red Chinon given above.
| Vintage | Rating | Drink |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Good | 2026–2035 |
| 2022 | Great | 2025–2035 |
| 2021 | Average | 2024–2031 |
| 2020 | Great | 2023–2033 |
| 2019 | Great | 2022–2032 |
| 2018 | Great | 2021–2031 |
| 2017 | Great | 2020–2030 |
| 2016 | Great | 2019–2029 |
| 2015 | Great | 2018–2028 |
| 2014 | Great | 2017–2027 |
| 2012 | Average | 2015–2022 |
| 2011 | Good | 2014–2023 |
The full history, back to the older vintages: Loire Valley.
How to read this window
Before the window opens, the wine is in its youth: fruit dominates, tannins or acidity can feel stern. During the peak plateau, everything falls into balance: this is the moment ageing prepares. Beyond it, the wine slowly declines: nothing unsafe, but the emotion fades. These are general benchmarks for the appellation, not a verdict on your bottle.
Curious where these numbers come from? The method is published in full: five levels from the estate down to the grape, corrected by the vintage and the bottle format.
Which dishes?
The classic pairings where Chinon is one of the safe bets:
- What wine with poultry?
- What wine with duck?
- What wine with charcuterie?
- What wine with cheese?
- What wine with veal?
- What wine with veal blanquette?
- What wine with pork?
From the same region
Other appellations in Loire, each with its own window:
- Bourgueil
- Saumur-Champigny
- Savennières
- Coteaux du Layon
- Quarts de Chaume
- Anjou
- Saumur
- Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
What about your bottles?
Caviste computes this window for every bottle in your cellar: photograph the label, the sheet fills itself in (estate, vintage, appellation) and the app tells you when a bottle reaches its peak. Discover Caviste.
