Prior to having this with tonight’s dinner, I’ve recently been quite happy with having Baudry’s 2012 Domaine Chinon and Guion’s 2010 Cuvee Prestige Bourgueil. However, with the more pronounced and appealing fruit-and-herb-driven bouquet, and the understated richness and elegance, the Grezeaux was clearly head-and-shoulder better than those 2 Loire cab franc that I noted above. Yes, it costs 6-8 more bucks than either of those, but the relative completeness of this wine makes that $8 differential such a bargain. Even in its youth, there’s that lip-smacking tartness from red berries, followed with some spiciness and an oh-so tasty layer of blue berry notes. It’s not always easy to find this level of complexity, for the price of $24. It definitely made my wintry New York dinner of a supermarket-bought roast chicken much more satisfying than it should be. A-
Nice note, Ramon. No comparison between these bottlings, the prior two being very nice daily drinkers, the latter, a vin du garde. For my palate, the Les Grezeaux was the best Baudry cuvee produced in 2010. I stocked up, it’s wonderful (A- is spot on!)
I loved the 2010 Grezeaux as well. I just tried the 2011 this week. It’s also an excellent wine, but I can’t quite put my finger on why I didn’t enjoy it as much as the 2010.
thanks for the note. I’ve got 7 bottles in a deep, cold sleep, and I know the day will come when I wish that number was double, triple or more than that – something that happens all too infrequently.
Just as a point of reference, the 2002 and 2005 Olga Raffault Les Picasses warrant consideration. Developmentally, the are a little further along than the 2010 Baudry Les Grézeaux and they age beautifully. The Piscasses are available in the low to mid $20s.
Do those Raffault wines taste like old cigarette butts to anyone else? I really want to like these wines because they can be brilliant, but the ashtray weighs so heavy on some of them.
A good reference for me too. I’ve had older (late 80s) Raffault Les Picasses that were brought to tasting-dinner by others that was good for me but not overly so. Given the availability of the 2002 at friendly pricies, $25 in local stores, I’ll remember to give them a try.
I pick up ash in many Chinons. I will say, I do experience variability on Raffault, which is one reason I do not buy a lot of it. Love it like I might, but I would rather hedge my bets. I once poured down the drain three bottles of 2005 in a row, one night. Massive brett.
Ramon,thanks for the note. It reminded me I should open a bottle, which I did last week during one of our many ice and snow storms to accompany some homemade beef and barley soup. It had me with the aromatics as soon as I opened the bottle, and the first taste was stunning. The flavors just jumped out. Subsequent glasses over 3 nights still showed its beauty. Until I had this bottle, the 2009 Boissee was my favorite.
Textbook Chinon, just textbook. This baby has quite a life ahead of it, but sure is yummy now. Chewy, yes, but they are sweetish dusty tannins. A ridiculous value.
