TN: 2011 Domaine Baudry Chinon Franc de Pied - Geeks Unite!

Ok I’m decidedly not a geek, but do indeed love geeky wines. And this one definitely qualifies. I’m pretty sure this was the last year of Baudry’s attempt at ungrafted Chinon on sandy soils, had a great run until the pesky Phylloxera louse finally reared its ugly head.

I had, past tense, one bottle left. The last two were consumed near release, so damn gulpable in this 2011 vintage. I’ve held onto this last one for what I thought would be a Franc de Pied tasting I sorta envisioned hosting, but Covid and all that. And it just seemed so apropos for a VP debate.

Cutting to the chase, this wine is excellent. It may not make it to the debate, maybe I don’t either.

Fairly aromatic nose of bright red fruits, green tobacco leaf and a hint of ash. Jolly rancher red candy attack with buzzy intensity. Fleshes out with more air to reveal a broad range of the red fruit spectrum, from tart cranberries, brambly red raspberries, red apple peal to slightly sweet, perhaps wild, strawberries. Really excellent balance overall between the fruit and structure, high acid but lifting really excellent rich red fruit. Grainy minerality. Chalky tannins, still chewy. Excellent wine but wow, I’d still give it a few more years. On par with the 2011 Croix Boissee. Not necessarily a great Loire Cab Franc vintage, but an electric one in the right hands. Rougeard is stunning.

(93 pts.)

Thanks Robert. I still have two. Maybe one will disappear soon.

See the thread asking if there is envy on the board. The answer is yes. Sounds amazing! Thanks for the note.

Sounds delicious. Thanks for the note Robert. And for introducing me to Baudry - turns out that I too have the palate of a yak!

Rougeard made this? Anyway, I had this a few years ago courtesy of one lucky bottle I got from Envoyer, it was really good.

???

Was just saying Rougeard also turned out some great 2011s.

Got it, and yes Rougeard did, so much so that I already drank all of my 2011 Poyeaux. Believe it or not, they served 2011 Rougeard (Les Clos) by glass where I bought my Poyeaux! I should have bought all I could back then… sigh…

I have two more bottles I’ve been hiding and avoiding. thanks for the report. Yes, this was certainly the last year for this bottling. The surviving fairly small output is rolled into Clos guillot (where the remaining vines are located.)

Robert, I’m not sure if you can really deny being a geek, or at least a nerd! Perhaps you’re like Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, a cycling-mad lawyer by day, but when the sun goes down and a glass of Cabernet Franc from the Loire appears miraculously in your kitchen, you transform into a geeky weirdo? Who can say.

Anyway, thanks for another post which will result in yet more wine filling the Marshall cellar - that sounds like an excellent wine. I’ve never tried it, but very occasionally bottles appear at auction here at a big premium over the normal cuvées - would you say that they are worth paying more for?

Nah, man, I only hire nerds so they make me look smart!

These are excellent wines, whether they are worth the extra premium, well, what exactly is the premium? I’d prolly snag a few at a premium, say up to $75-$100 USD, but to be clear, that’s only for the geek-effect. I cannot say these are better than Croix Boissee, just different. I honestly think the Joguet Franc de Pieds, if you can find them, are a notch above. See if you can find the 2005 Joguet FDP, or 07 and 04. I also think the Plouzeau FDP is a better wine, but those are really really old ungrafted vines (some over 140 years old), not young vine ungrafted experiments. Rare Wine Company recently had the 2002 and 2003 Baudry FDP for, I think, $175. I passed, but sorta wish I would have grabbed at least one. I had both of these several years ago at Racine’s in NYC.

Quite right too - I enjoy teaching students because they all think I’m clever - little do they know I’m just an Olympic champion bullshitter!

Thanks - I did try one Joguet FDP, the 2004, which I enjoyed a lot, but which I didn’t really feel was worth the difference, so I’ll probably pass on the Baudrys - well, that’s what my sensible side is telling the less sensible side right now, but I’ll probably succumb to temptation anyway!

On release these wines carried no premium. Prices for jacked up once the vines succumbed to the louse.

Yeah, I don’t think the wine is any “better” either, just different. Actually a little lighter and more “ethereal” than the regular bottling. I certainly wouldn’t pay a lot for it. I think I paid $30 or less for mine. I think Matthieu said they were down to less than 20% of the vines that were originally planted when they quit because there wasn’t enough to bottle separately. I got the impression that he thought it was a colossal waste of time and energy (his dad’s idea originally, I think).

Breton makes a FdP also that should be readily attainable (though Bouegeuil not Chinon) Quite easy style with a vein of seriousness. There’s also Roches Neuves (again not Chinon but Saumur); however, I’ve not sampled my bottles yet.

I buy both, you nailed the Breton. The Roche Neuves FDP is a big step above, slot it just below Plouzeau. The Les Memoires cuvee could be a future superstar. All fun stuff!

Funny story about this wine. I met a friend who had recently fallen deeply for wine. He started with high end Bordeaux and Burgundy. He brought a Leroy Grand Cru and a couple of first growth Bordeaux to a restaurant. I saw this wine on the list and ordered it. It was by far his favorite wine. I said the good news is that I used to buy it for $30, the bad news is that it is no longer made!

Really regret not chasing this (and the Joguet) when I had the chance.

I have a '12 slotted for drinking. I’m thinking this is the weekend with the weather cooling down.

Thanks Markus - I know and like those ones! Another Chinon FDP, although not quite as good I think, is Coulaine.

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Robert which vintages 14-17 do you recommend fur the Roche Neuved FdP or Memoires?