Mouth-clenching red berry acidity, bold tannin and all youthful character from a popped-and-poured bottle in Day 1. Settled in with serene, cool-weather fruit and adding the perfect blueberry notes in Day 2 with the now more expressive bouquet evoking nothing but class. Delicious length. I don’t think I’m completely off with this analogy but this is where I begin to see similarities with highly-classified Bordeaux in good vintages, except that this was purchased at release for $26.99 less 10% case discount! On track to becoming a special vintage for Les Grezeaux.
Has anyone checked in on '14 Croix Boissee? I was able to buy several recently. I was planning to sit on them for a couple of years, but if they are showing well now…
Love love love this vintage of 2014 Loire CF. And I am of the opinion that in these most classic of years like 2014, Les Grezeaux shines best of the Baudry stable.
Just opened a bottle this evening and couldn’t agree more with your assessment. “Pure Class” sums it up perfectly, and like Alfert, I love this vintage compared to the riper vintages like 2015.
I thought that Guillot was their 2nd best red. I’ve preferred the two bottles I’ve tasted to the same vintages of Grezeaux (2012 & 2018). Is that incorrect?
Question to the OG’s. I have been buying B. Grx since 2009 (which still are delicious). What do you gents feel/think/have experienced the full drinking window of these wines. Because they are delicious fairly young, maybe my question is
For the 14 what do you think the perfect drinking window for these wines (I know it depends but take a guess)?
Any tasting notes or memories of what the B Grx drinks like with some serious age?
While I started buying with the 1996 vintage I think the oldest I’ve had was a 2005 at age 16. Gorgeous at that point. And a 1997 Croix Boissee that same night certainly lent credence to the idea that holding longer wouldn’t do it any harm: I’ve certainly never had one that I thought was over the hill.
Only time will tell. I think most vintages of Grez can go 20-30 years but it’s mostly a hypothesis without a ton of data points to support beyond what Jay highlights and those library releases a decade or so ago from chambers.
I can’t answer your 2nd question as my oldest bottle of Baudry was a 2010 Boissée, but this 2014 Grezeaux felt like it would still be delicious in a decade.
In a way, they’re all of equal quality, just different because of the site.
Croix Boissée: calcaire (white limestone), behaves like Burgundy.
Clos Guillot: clay and yellow limestone, right across the amphitheater Chêne Vert, behaves like Right-Bank Bordeaux.
Grézeaux: oldest vines, alluvial soils with large stones (grézeaux), behaves like Chinon.
These are maybe the least expensive truly great wines in the world.
