Yup. I don’t drink them often but find the winemaking very tight and clean.
Great note!
I had the 2023 version of this one at the domaine earlier this year. Like you, I enjoyed it a lot. Of the reds I tasted there, it was certainly the most approachable and open for business. It was very expressive and, like you say, quite silky and elegant. The '21 Mi-pente and '22 Haut de la Butte both seemed much more dense, structured and in need of more time to loosen up the tannic grip (both also very impressive). I do imagine that the Coteaux du Levant would also gain in complexity with more age, though.
I didn’t experience any of the reds as obviously bretty or funky, so I think you may be right about the style change. In contrast, I found Baudry and Olga Raffault to be a bit more on the ‘rustic’ side, for example, with probably a touch of brett on some wines (not in an unpleasant way, though, for me).
I haven’t had any 2018 from the Loire, though I know of its reputation as a “peak solar” type vintage. This bottle certainly indicated a solar vintage as well, though its acidity balanced really well.
I drank a 2005 Joguet Dioterie a few years that had a comparable level of fruit ripeness and alcohol. But the tannic structure in the Dioterie was so much more coarse, even with significant bottle age, than this Poyeux. That’s what impresses me greatly, though it could just as easily be a vintage or vineyard rather than producer characteristic.
Thanks Jakob! I really like the old Blot style and the brett has never bothered me, but if the new style is cleaner and sleeker, that’s fine by me! I have several recent vintages of the other wines, including the 21 Mi-Pente, so it’ll be fun seeing if they’re all like that!
Praise indeed! I’m a fan of Sanzay’s wines - I love the sappy but silky fruit. I’ve never had one old enough to know if they age gracefully or not. I have the same question about La Porte Saint Jean’s wines, which are similar in style. I’m pretty sure they do, since Roches Neuves wines certainly age beautifully. As for Joguet, I haven’t opened my Dioterie 05 yet, but normally Joguet tannins are not coarse so perhaps it’s the effect of the vintage (I’ve certainly had some aggressive tannins in other 05s).
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It’s pretty amazing!
Try '95!
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Rouge Belle Dame 2020
A mighty fine bottle of Pinot. Dense, spicy, chalky, smoky.
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Clos Rougeard les Clos 2011 - a few weeks ago. Had some green notes that kept it fresh, overal on a nice path of evolution. Not tertiary yet. Not mindblowing either. Still have a few bottles, that will be drunk over the coming years.
Looking at Julian’s assesment of the vintage: 2011 - mostly quite lean, with one or two exceptions (Clos de L’Echo by Couly Dutheil springs to mind - overripe and syrupy). Some very good wine though - like La Marginale. Coteau de Noiré, or Les Varennes. => this was not on the leaner side of the spectrum for my taste, but also far from syrupy. Probably 4/10 on the lean/syrupy scale.
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I love 2011s!
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This week I did something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time - a horizontal of Joguet 2005s, thinking that they must be in the perfect spot. Well…
2005 Charles Joguet Chinon Franc de Pied Les Varennes du Grand Clos
Perfect fill, perfect cork, but totally shot! It was bought at auction several years ago, so probably just a bad bottle.
2005 Charles Joguet Chinon Les Varennes du Grand Clos
Perfect condition again, with a very tight cork. Quite a fragrant nose, with wild strawberries dominating redcurrants and red cherries, finishing with some faded rose. In the mouth, great elegance - silky notes of red cherry at first, then a little sappy cranberry, before the wild strawberry takes over. With time, redcurrant flavours emerge and pretty well take over. Overall a bit underwhelming - perfectly acceptable and enjoyable - but old. If I hadn’t known I would have said this was at least ten years older.
2005 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie
Nothing visibly wrong with it but very much along the same lines as the Varennes. A more concentrated version of the latter, quite tight at first, but ultimately with the same fading fruit.
I consoled myself with this:
2015 Charles Joguet Chinon Les Varennes du Grand Clos
Now you’re talking - red berries and cedar on the nose, along with violets and plums, then a medium-bodied mouthful of the same, ripe but far from overripe, before heading into black fruits - mostly blackberry at this stage, along with some smokiness that never detracts from the fruit, and a really persistent finish. Silky, elegant and majestic, just what I had hoped to get from the 05s. Oh well!
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Hi Julian, have you had a 2015 Clos de la Dioterie recently? I bought some at the winery years ago and they’re still buried in the cellar. Wondering if it may be time to pop the first.
Thanks!
Not yet! I think I will try one soon though, just in case, because on the second evening I found the Varennes to be quite evolved with a lot of tell-tale redcurrant. I’ll post when I do, but please let me know if you try one before I get round to it!
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This was not the payoff I was hoping for from my Baudry 2010 Boissee given aging for over a decade. I’m also not investing high hopes in my remaining two bottles due to the suggestions of systemic TCA in this vintage.
- 2010 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (11/6/2025)
Day 1: A couple of pours via Coravin. Great aromas of capsicum, pasture, pomegranate and eucalyptus. Somewhat less exciting on the palate, fairly lean with medium high acidity. Opened up in the glass, but just didn't have the anticipated layering and depth, fairly simple impression of red fruit and herbs with a linear progression. Mediocre finish.
Might be very low level TCA here, but not apparent enough to confirm. Will revisit on day 2, NR for now.
Day 2: Popped cork and finished. More of the same, still not clear if TCA or just kind of dull. Heavy on minerality, dull finish. Won’t rate for now, but definitely below expectations.
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I don’t think the 2010 CB is really ready, but this doesn’t sound right. Forget about the Coravin. Decant it carefully off of the sediment, and it give it a few hours to open up if you want to drink it now.
Hadn’t heard of any special issue with TCA in the 2010s.
Decanting a wine I don’t intend to drink over a single night simply will result in wasting at least half of a bottle that gets oxidized. Not a good option.
I do generally use Coravin for younger wines, but aerating in a large bowled glass does a decent enough job. A good wine shows well, a less good wine doesn’t show well. Decanting/aeration can certainly be a factor to optimize, but I’m not a subscriber to “Burgundy rules” wherein an underperforming wine is solely due to user error (e.g. too young, too old, dumb phase, improper decanting).
In any case, given the opportunity to settle overnight standing upright and poured gently, with exposure to oxygen, the wine was no better the next day. Therefore I conclude the wine was less good than I’d hoped.
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You seem adamant about your regimen, so OK: different strokes.
But note I’ve had it 3 or 4 times in the past 2.5 years, all from other people’s cellars, and it’s been a beautiful wine every time, even if it ideally needs at least another 5-10 years. I don’t plan to touch my bottles until then.
The other Baudry 10s are singing now.
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hmmm! … “dense” — not an attribute I would have expected from a Loire Pinot. The couple times I’ve previously had a Loire Pinot I’ve found them too thin, so I’m thinking I might like this one. Thanks for posting!
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eeeesh! Rough showing for those '05’s — like you, not what I would have expected. What was the provenance on the Diotere and Varennes? Cellared by you since release?
Sorry to hear about the bummer 2010 Boissee @G_D_y_e_r . I popped one back in March and thought it was great, albeit still youthful. My bottle showed light oxidation on Day 2, so your oxidized concerns are valid.
I saw your note in CT, which encouraged me to try one of my 3 bottles.
However, it seems that around one of every 4 or 5 bottles shows like mine did or worse, such as full blown TCA. One CT note indicates Baudry had a bad lot of corks from a supplier in 2010, which interestingly correlates with the observed bottle variation.
I have liked the 2010 Grez & Guillot when I had them. Others in CT who generally like Loire reds also have been disappointed with the 2010 CB. Definitely pointing to bottle variation, which is always a possibility at 10+ years of age. But disappointing for a wine that should, if properly stored, have 20-30 years in the tank and have some tolerance to a less than ideal closure in terms of O2 ingress. No wine has tolerance to TCA, however.
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