My agent just contacted me with their 2017 Baudry offer. Prices seems to be up, but only a few $ per bottle. For the Grezeaux I paid $40CAD/$30USD for the 2016’s last year. Looks like the 2017 will be $44CAD/$33USD. I think the value is still there, even though prices are steadily increasing.
I briefly read a comment by someone who had said Chinon had a good run of vintages from 2014 - 2017, and I can see Wine Spectator liked 2017 just as much as 2015 and 2010. Other than that I have no information. Does anyone have a read on the vintage? And specifically how Baudry did?
FWIW, at a tasting two weeks ago, I asked Mathieu his thoughts in recent vintages 14-17. He responded that all were really good vi takes, but 14 was a cut above the others.
Between Baudry, O Raffault, and C&P Breton, I don’t hesitate to buy YIYO.
So I’ve been buying a variety of the reds the last few years and enjoyed them and cellaring most of them. How bout the blanc and rose? Are they worth attention?
The regular Chinon white, usually good early drinker, is the better value at < $20. At much higher ticket prices, a few uneven experiences with oxidated short-term aged Croix Boissee had been quite frustrating.
Took delivery of my case of Les Grézeaux this week and of course immediately popped a bottle to check in. It’s very nice. I have it right in line with the '16 in terms of quality, though perhaps even more immediately drinkable. I think the '15 is the best of '15-'17 and I think it has the best long-term potential, but I’ll be aging all of them to find out. I own some '14, but have never had it so I can’t compare.
2017 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (7/18/2019)
Lovely, classic Chinon. This pours a youthful deep violet. The nose is already complex of cranberry, red apple, hibiscus, dry hay, barnyard, burlap, peanut shells, charcoal, celery seed, and gravel. The palate has higher than usual acid for this cuvee, with a slightly apple/cider note. Tannin is slightly lower than usual. Quite a lot of cranberry, hibiscus, and cider on the finish. Strikes me as earlier drinking than the '15 and '16, but fresh, lively, and complex today. I’ll still age my bottles a few years to see what happens. (91 pts.)
Like Scott, I buy the Baudry cuvees, YIYO. I have not yet tried the 2017, but did drink the 2015 Croix Boissee last night, brief notes posted.
Baudry has had an excellent run for many years, not just 14-17. While some may prefer the riper style of 2015, 2014 is a perfect archetype for Loire Cab Franc. A most classic vintage. I stocked up deeply among many key producers, similar to what I did in Bordeaux. That said, Baudry’s 2015 Guillott is spectacular. I went back for more on that one. My favorite recent vintages of Baudry are 2014, 2010 and 2005. These vintages will take time to evolve. I find Grezeaux in classic years to take more time than the other cuvees. YMMV.
Thanks for the note, looks like it’s time to put in my order for the 17s.
Wait until you taste the '18s … I drank several bottles of the '18 Domaine while in Chinon a few weeks ago and it was fantastic. Can’t wait for the Croix Boissee.
I agree with your comment that the '17s should drink earlier than the '15s and '16s.
They opened an '06 Les Grezeaux for me during my visit as well and it was very enjoyable and surprisingly fresh. Definitely something to drink in the near term!
I’ve had '14 to '16 of Baudry’s Le Grezeaux and Granges and my order of preference is 14 > 16 > 15. Nothing wrong with '15, still good, but I prefer the more classic, vin-de-garde Loire to the more lush, easier-to-drink-young '15. Stocked up on the '14s, including a bunch of whites.
I haven’t tried any '17, but have had from a few other Loire cab franc producers that impressed, as I liked the Loire typicity that they showed. Looking forward to trying out some of Baudry’s.
I buy every vintage because I think great vigneron always make good wine. That being said, I tasted the 2017s out of tank/barrel in 2018 and found them superb. I agree 2014 is really a special vintage.
Indeed, the 2017 reds were superb out of bottle this spring. I’d note that there was a fairly obvious difference in near term enjoyment between cuvées we think of as being lower in the hierarchy chez Baudry. Both the Chinon and les Granges were drinking well and the other three need time. This is not unusual, just more pronounced in 2017.
Mathieu’s '18 rosé is enjoyable as always, but he seems to still be finding his way with the white.
ps-I always remind myself not to generalize too much about the reds – there must be 10 kilometers between the Chinon vineyard (near Clos l’Echo) and the three ‘original’ red vineyards with Guillot in the middle, there being additional variation in topography. This is nothing at all like comparing one Burgundy domaine’s holdings to another just down slope, or to the same domaine’s village wine.
I have very little tasting experience with Cab Franc, but I am interested in trying some and Baudry’s gets some good words here. Do you think the Grezeaux will likely provide you drinking pleasure over the next few years or is more time likely to be needed to enjoy this wine?
Start with le Domaine. The '17 is quite fine, will be ready to drink now and for a few years, and will give you a sense – very generally – of the quality and style. Many of my friends who like Baudry have favorites from the named vineyards. In other words, after le Domaine it becomes a question of personal preference.
I guess it was meant to be as I found two bottles of the 2014 remaining at a local wine store. Lucky! . . . Now let’s dance . . . P.S. I took this photo with my wife’s Ipad and emailed it to myself under the subject “Baudry”. When I received the email, the subject had been auto-corrected to “Baudelaire” which I thought pretty cool, after some initial puzzlement on why my wife was sending me something about Baudelaire)
While I know there is upside on the 2017 Grezeaux it’s damn delicious today. It’s not at all shutdown IMO. For me it’s hard not to just drink through the whole case in the next few months if that gives you any indication.
I’ll note that if you’ve never had Baudry and you’re very sensitive to Brett you might not like it. In my experience about 20% of bottles have had zero Brett, 60% have had very low levels of Brett that many might not detect and to me only adds complexity, and 20% have had obvious Brett that would turn many off but are still in my realm of enjoyment.
