NOSE: ripe purple fruits intermixed with plenty of classic Cab. Franc bell pepper and golden tobacco notes; same on Day 2 as on Day 1.
BODY: medium-light bodied
TASTE: Day 1: light plum; bell pepper; lots of dried herbs; earthy – soil; gentle oak (old wood); very light tannins; adequate acidity; some light leather/horsiness; 12% alc. not noticeable; tobacco; wet stones. Day 2: same as Day 1, except no leathery/horsey note. This wine is quite approachable and easy-to-drink right now; strikes me as a Drink in the Near Term wine. Very good to low-level excellent, and fantastic QPR.
Great note. I had the Les Grezeaux recently (was my first Baudry) and found it really superb. I love cab franc as a grape so am biased.
I’m curious on where these go with age. They certainly last–I tasted a quality 2006 cab franc from Breton, and it was remarkably similar to the recent vintages–but I’m curious to try ones that have developed noticeably more complexity.
I perennial favorite of mine as a house wine. Great QPR.
I had the 2014 version at a restaurant this past weekend and immediately went home and ordered a full case. I’ve been hearing about 2014 being a high quality vintage, and if this basic wine is indicative of the quality, then wow. I will be going deep on 2014 Baudry. Incredible depth, ripeness, precision and balance for a basic domaine wine.
Thx for the note. Wondering what folks think is the value proposition (or other selling point) of the Granges vs. Cuvee Domaine and the rest of the line-up. I think the Granges is the only Baudry bottling I haven’t had, but I always figured the Domaine was better/more ageable for another $1 or $2 (while still being enjoyable young), making the Granges not super attractive. And then there’s the Grezeaux for another $5 or so. How does the Granges stack up? Am I making a mistake here?
I put the Les Granges and the Cuvee Domaine basically in the same entry-level position.
The other three cuvees are the premiums. Which one you prefer depends on your stylistic preferences. I tend to prefer Les Grezeaux over Croix Boissee, which I place over Clos Guillot.
I agree here - particularly with respect to Grezeaux over Clos Guillot (never had Croix Boissee close to being “ready” but really love Grezeaux, so it takes the #1 slot). That seems to be the minority position, though, based on price/notes/word of mouth. My sense is that folks generally prefer Clos Guillot.
Guillot is raised in barriques, so is softer, silkier, more gentle. I think it’s also the youngest vines of the 3. I don’t find Grezeaux to be inhospitable young (the 2012 I had a while back was super fresh and open), but it is definitely more rustic and chunky/gravelly/nutty – which I prefer – and the wine could go into hibernation a couple of years out. My understanding is that Boissee can go 20+ years and is certainly very tightly wound early on.
This pretty much sums it up for me. I bolded the language above as that is precisely why I prefer the Les Grezeaux. The 2010 is a beastly beauty. Croix Boissee needs time, lots of it, but I found 2011 interestingly approachable quite early, showing a lot of grainy minerality and spicy red fruits. Guillot tends to be softer, rounder, prettier.
I treaded quite lightly in '12. A recent Baudry Domaine was, while still a decent wine, clearly from weaker vintage. And I say that having liked '07 and '08, cooler, less-lauded vintages. I plan to go long on '14 though. Thanks for the heads-up on the '14 Granges Robert !
Thanks to all for heads up on the 2014.
Reports suggest could be a really nice vintage for Loire and i’m really curious to try some Chinon examples, with Bernard Baudry being high up the list.
I drank a bottle of the 2013 Les Granges earlier this year and appreciated what he was able to do with such a challenging vintage: the wine was very light (weighing in around a pretty paltry 11.5% ABV if I recall) and was definitely on the greener end of the cab franc spectrum, but was still an interesting and enjoyable wine. In fact would be a great choice for a bistro lunchtime wine, good with food and light enough to not write-off your afternoon.
But have to give credit to the winemaker considering the vintage: when we passed through Chinon in June 2013 i was shocked to see vines under about 6 inches of water! Admitted, these were on the plateau above the town so would not have been the case for the better coteaux vineyards but still testament to how much of a struggle to get ripe grapes and make half-way decent wine…
Will be very keen to get stuck into his 14s
This thread made me salivate and purchase a bunch of '14 Granges from CSW (only a few bottles left for those who want in).
I always think about aging Baudry (especially Grezeaux) but I literally just cannot keep my hands off the stuff as Baudry’s are generally my house red.
For anyone who regularly ages Baudry, what do you think is the sweet spot? I had a 06 Granges recently at a tasting and I have Grezeaux’s going back to 09, but no experience beyond that. Are these Cab Francs that can age like a Raffault (which i drink frequently from the 90s and late 80s)? Or are they better for mid term cellaring?
BODY: dark violet-garnet color of medium-deep depth; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: tannic, and quite green; tastes a bit corked, but it doesn’t smell corked and Ashley doesn’t think it’s corked; some garrigue; markedly different (worse) than previous bottle; just o.k…
2012 is just a tough vintage. I see a lot of love here even for this vintage but personally find it to be the weakest vintage in the region in some time. 2014 though is looking awesome from early peeks, and early reports on '15 say very good with density and freshness. Hopefully that is true and the wines aren’t too big from that warm vintage.
“The Baudry Cuvée Domaine has changed a bit over the years, now made mostly from parcels in Saint-Louans on classic limestone/clay soils with the addition of juice from gravel terroir, giving a more structured wine that ages beautifully but also drinks well young. (“Chameaux” and “Molière” in Saint-Louans and “Clos Testu” in Chinon near Le Clos Guillot.) Lovely now in a somewhat austere style, this should be very interesting in five to ten years or more. (After three days re-corked in the fridge, the wine has fattened up with sweet blackberry and cassis followed by a nice mineral finish - really delicious!)”