Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Domaine 2021 (6 Bottles) Loire Valley, France

Organic. 100% Cabernet Franc. The lion’s share of this bottling is drawn from Baudry’s high-sited vines, which lie in Saint Louans on a plateau above Chinon’s première côte. The principal vineyard here is evocatively named Cimetière aux Chiens, which translates as ‘dog cemetery’ (probably a reference to the limestone that litters the soil here). To this fruit source, Baudry blends in roughly 20% from vines rooted in the gravelly soils of Cravant-les-Côteaux.

Fermented with wild yeasts in traditional cement vats, Le Domaine ages in both concrete and old casks for 15 months. The wine is bottled unfiltered, two springs after harvest. This is a considerably longer aging cycle than in the past. Baudry believes this drawn-out maturation brings more mineral limestone character to his wine, and it is now more seductive and approachable.

Crammed with Rabelaisian charm, this offers the meaty, earthy, ‘sauvage’ nose so typical of this wine, alongside a juicy, silky palate with flavours of roast meat, wet earth, creamy raspberry fruit and a floral lift. With its mouth-puckering tannins and food-friendly acidity, it’s a wine for the table—ideally with hearty, slow cooked meat dishes. It may not be for everyone, but it is the kind of wine that made the region famous—and it is deliciously unique. An old-school 12.2% completes the picture (so you can drink by the tankard). Eat, drink and be merry!

Bernard Baudry is unquestionably one of Chinon’s most outstanding producers. Not only does he have the talent to make delicious and consistent wines, vintage to vintage, but he is also fortunate enough to have vineyard land that showcases many of the varied soil types of the appellation. After completing his studies at the viticultural school in Beaune, Bernard returned to the Loire Valley to consult in Tours.

By 1975, he had purchased his first two hectares of land in Cravant-les-Coteaux, a village from which almost half of the production of A.O.C. Chinon is sourced. Over the years, the domaine has grown to twenty-five hectares. Bernard’s son, Matthieu, joined the family domaine in 2000 after studying winemaking in the Mâconnais and Bordeaux, with internships both in Tasmania and California!