Domaine Bernard Baudry
The iconic Chinon producer Bernard Baudry produces some of Loire's most pure and expressive Cabernet Franc wines, with each cuvee named after the terroir that gives them their unique character.
Les Granges is a lighter bodied wine made for earlier drinking from grapes that are grown on gravel and sand, which makes for a lip smackingly bright and lively wine. Le Domaine is a blend of parcels of older vines (around 35 years old) planted mostly on the alluvial gravel near the river (that brings an earthy, inky edge) as well as some vines grown on the limestone/flint slopes above the river. La Croix Boisee, from a single site with clay/limestone soils, is solidly built; rich, full and suave. Finally, Clos Guillot is another single vineyard situated on a steep, south-east facing slope in Chinon. The soils here are a mixture of clay, chalk and yellow limestone and the wine is the most powerful, profound and long lived.
For anyone who may not be aware of Cabernet Franc‘s wily charms or who believes that this grape incapable of producing fabulous wines, these bottlings are the perfect retort. These are some of the most pure and sumptuous Loire reds, and those who prefer what’s in the bottle to what’s on the label will find so much to love in these wines.
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