It’s funny that you say that, as I have always had the same impression of that cuvee. I buy it but not every year like I do the other cuvees.
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.
1 Like
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?
If you base it off the pricing, that would be correct. If you base it off preference, perhaps not. My favorite cuvee is the Grezeaux
3 Likes
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?
Look forward to learning from your experience!
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.
3 Likes
What does “SV” stand for here?
I’m guessing he was referring to it generically to a single Vineyard designated wine - SV or SVD.
1 Like
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.
3 Likes
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.
1 Like
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.
4 Likes
Honestly, this is the best description I have read about Baudry. And definitely explains my preferences here.
1 Like
Interesting. What do you mean by “behaves like”?
Croix Boissee has always reminded me of L Bank Bdx., a bit. And Clos Guillot has always struck me as being Cab. Franc for Burgundy lovers.
I think Nathan nailed it, at least for my palate. I know I have called it the Merlot of the Baudry stable on this site. Grezeaux is the archetype Chinon. So classic.
2 Likes
The oldest Grézeaux I have had was 13 years old and tasted like it was only just out of the starting blocks, so I would be quietly confident that like most quality Loire CF, 30 years is a conservative guess. I had a Clos de L’Echo Couly-Dutheil 1990 a couple of weeks ago that was still incredibly fresh. Even the less stellar vintages age well. I remember opening a Clos de L’Echo 2001 in 2015, bought on a whim, thinking how lucky I was that it was so fresh and spritely - 8 years later, it is still going strong.
1 Like
I do tend to use SV acronym for Single Vineyard only for Baudry’s top tier wines in Croix Boissee, Clos Guillot and Les Grezeaux, and I should break out of that habit because as I learned when I was at the winery in August, even Les Granges and Le Domaine are grown on specific sites-vineyards.
1 Like
I have had Croix Boissee and Grezeaux with over 15 years of age, and I think I even had an older one at Racines in New York City. There is absolutely no reason why, in classic years, these wines cannot mature and continue to evolve favorably for more than 20 to 25 years. I often view Grezeaux as having a similar structure and archetype characteristics as Raffault’s Les Picasses, maybe with just more purity of fruit. We know these Raffault Chinon’s can age beautifully way beyond 30 years.
2 Likes
Cool. Thanks for explaining, Ramon. For my part, Clos Guillot and Croix Boissee are the only two Baudry bottlings I look at buying every year. Every once in awhile, Grezeaux speaks to me, too, but more often than not it doesn’t.
Hmmmm … very interesting. Based on context, I assume you’re talking about Guillot — what has made you call it the Merlot of the Baudry lineup? I don’t drink a ton of Merlot, so the comparison is not jumping off the page for me.
Yes, Guillot. Vintage-dependent, of course, but generally more rounded, deeper fruit, and more often venturing into the darker fruit spectrum. Grezeaux has more classic structure, shows more of the herbaceous Loire CF characteristics, and more shades of red fruit.