Domaine Baudry

Our feature for November lands us back in the Loire River Valley. The village of Chinon sits on the Vienne river (Itself a tributary of the mighty Loire River). The population of this town is a little bit larger than Mystic CT but its primary focus is agriculture. With a history spanning more than a millennium there are some fantastic wine growing lineages that have been developed. We focus though on an estate that was founded in 1975, but has quickly become one of the standard bearers of the region. Domaine Baudry is classic Chinon, traditional Cabernet Franc production with small parcels for dry Chenin Blanc.

All of the fruit for their wines comes from their estates, where it is hand-harvested, destemmed, and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The estate was certified organic in 2006 but has been farming organically for a good deal longer. The wines speak of Chinon's diverse terroir (see picture below of soil variation) and are made with minimal intervention. Production is not exactly large, especially on the single vineyard wines but we carry five wines from them currently.

• Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc 2019 (100% Chenin Blanc, less than 2 grams residual sugar per liter)

• Bernard Baudry Chinon "Le Domaine" 2018 (100% Cabernet Franc, sourced from a combination of their vineyard sites)

• Bernard Baudry "Les Granges" 2018 (100% Cabernet Franc, 8 Hectare Vineyard with alluvial soils right on the river)

• Bernard Baudry "Le Clos Guillot" 2017 (100% Cabernet Franc, small Hillside Vineyard overlooking the town, limestone soils, non filtered)

• Bernard Baudry Chinon Rose 2019 (100% Cabernet Franc, Macerated for extended periods up to two weeks and vinified dry)

A look at the soil variations in Chinon.