TN: 2016 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux

I first opened a bottle of modernish 2004 Rioja last night but found myself so appalled by its roundness and the amount of oak that could not help but pour it down the drain. I asked myself what would be a sort of polar opposite for that disappointing experience and very quickly grabbed this bottle knowing that it is still very early days. CT notes were fortunately encouraging - some of them by WB regulars - thanks everybody for blazing the trail.

After only around 30min or so in the decanter I was fully in love with this bottle. In many ways it represents some sort of a Cabernet Franc ideal for me, although naturally there is plenty of room for other expressions as well. This wine is not a gateway drug: you pretty much have to have some level of fondness for the grape (coming from the Loire - obviously - liking an Argentinian Cabernet Franc does little to prepare one) to enjoy this but if you do, I would say the chances are high that you are going to love it. I certainly do and look forward to hoarding more. I’ve been buying some La Croix Boissée for the cellar and am not looking to rush with them but I am just super happy to have this bottling to drink meanwhile. I don’t think the value here can be beaten - this is a complete wine of extremely high quality and authenticity.

  • 2016 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (29.3.2020)
    The nose was first all band-aid but in half an hour or so it had transformed to a beauty. Blackcurrant, paprika, herbs, iron and bouillon are all present and the aromatics are just remarkably expressive and detailed. Medium-bodied on the palate and very light on its feet - no baby fat. Very bright with a sense of clarity, there is nothing forced about this. It possesses a fine structure and gently gripping tannins.The fruit on the palate is savory and uplifting in a high-pitched way. The finish is wonderfully palate-cleansing. For a wine that is known to age easily for a couple of decades it is drinking splendidly well at such a young age.

Posted from CellarTracker

Ha - I know the feeling! There are whole sections in my cellar where I just sigh and hold my head in my hands, wondering what induced me to buy those blasted bottles. I’ve offloaded a truckload of Right Banks, but the problem also concerns other regions, one of which is Rioja, and I even had to pour a Madiran away this week which had the temerity to taste like a St.Emilion.

With the retirement of a certain critic and perhaps the change in people’s tastes, there must be hundreds, even thousands of producers around the world who are worried. When you’re used to making that stuff how do you change?

Anyway, sorry to digress - that Grézeaux sounds splendid - thanks - I shall go and buy some lickety-split!

You could not have picked a more classic Loire CF! IMHO, it’s even the most classic in Baudry’s stable. I have the 2016, but have not cracked one, I always think Grezeaux needs the most time. Funny side note, I ordered, by accident, the Croix Boissee 2016 three times from three different retailers, so have an over-supply.

And I’m with you on Rioja and that pungent American oak.

Ain’t nothing wrong with digressing a bit! I’ve been into wine for 10+ years now and fortunately very early on I got some good assistance from GaryVee and blogs like Brooklynguy and Not drinking poison in Paris that lead me to try things that would change my wine drinking and buying habits forever. It did not take long to realize that I want to drink savory, high acid wines with little to no make-up. That said Rioja is something of a struggle - I have enjoyed a good deal wines from LdH, Ardanza and Remelluri but many others I just find unpleasant. I think many others suffer a lot more from having bought just way too many wines hyped up by Parker & Co - sorry to hear that you are one of them! I hope you will like the Grézeaux as much as I did. [cheers.gif]

Your new Finnish bestie OttoF strongly disapproved my decision yesterday to open it but I have no regrets as I got a ton of pleasure out of it. I haven’t tried the red La Croix Boissée yet but based on my very limited experience I think Les Grézeaux suits my palate better than Le Clos Guillot which is a fine wine in its own right. That said I think there are worse problems to have than owning too much of any wine from Baudry :slight_smile:

I drank a case of this over the last 9 months. The local “sale” prices that it was offered for and the sufficient drinkability that’s enough to satisfy my Loire cab franc craving, had me purchasing 2 consecutive 6-packs and I polished them all off.

I don’t keep these for long-term aging, and have decided long ago that the Croix Boissee will occupy the local crazy-expensive offsite storage space that I can afford.

Here’s my short take on the 2016 Le Grezeaux (vs. the 2017).

I can’t blame you there. The price is indeed amazing, cellar space is neither free nor unlimited and one simply needs wines that can be enjoyed young. Thanks for the notes, I must find some 2017 to try.

Now, Brooklynguy … that is a good-influence blog and wine-drinker.

Last I looked it’s still dormant.

A fantastic resource and a great read as well. Probably my all time favorite wine blog.

Baudry releases this excellent wine in Magnums
Buy!!!

As one of the WBers your reference I’m glad I could point you to this wine. It’s great! So delicious today and I have no doubt it’ll age for the long haul.

I had a 2010 of this a few nights ago, and it was a beauty. Such pure, focused fruit, and the signature Loire cab franc elements like tobacco and gravel, but as a secondary player (at this age) to the purity and freshness of the fruit. Long life ahead, but awesome right now.

Glad I"m not the only one this has happened to. Lately, I force myself to search my emails before ordering! Kermit’s wines are the ones I do this with the most.

Hmmm. I did not know. I have a proverbial shit-ton of Baudry but have never seen a magnum.

I will forward this to Neil. Maybe he will come out of “retirement” given the current circumstances. :slight_smile:

I would love it if he started writing again but I think it does not make any sense if he does not have the fire for it. Clearly when he stopped he had come to a point where writing about wine did not feel as fun anymore as it had been before.

Why am I not surprised

Not nearly enough [wink.gif] . Also, Claus plays in a different space. 2 years ago, saw a few 1.5L bottles of Le Grezeaux in a wine store in the Netherlands.

Not surprisingly on your two posts, Otto and Ramon, I was indeed doing some shopping today…

had a 2015 recently that was fun to drink. sure it has a long life ahead, but delicious nonetheless.