Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges 2018

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Some background: the Les Granges comes mostly from the Estate’s younger vines (15 to 20-plus years old) planted on the alluvial, gravel soils of the terraces by the river Vienne. The grapes are picked by hand, fermentation is at cool temperatures and maturation occurs in a mix of concrete and large wooden vats.

Les Granges is a fruity, agreeable wine that should be drunk young. It is an example of easy-going and round Chinon from sandy gravelly soil.

About Bernard Baudry

“While they are sometimes labelled traditionalists, I find them to be more naturalists. Everything here is organic, harvested by hand and bottled without fining or filtration. In any case, theirs is a style that I admire: they make cabernet franc taste as suave and succulent as pinot noir.” Joel B. Payne, Vinous

“Bernard Baudry is, here and now, one of the leading domaines of the appellation. Some would say the leading domaine of the appellation. The wines are of exceptionally high quality…” Chris Kissack, The Wine Doctor

About Cabernet Franc

In Australia Cabernet Franc is often referred to as a weed making green insipid wines. As always there are exceptions. Cabernet Franc from the Chinon is another beast altogether. More a beauty really. The wines can have incredible delicacy, perfume, and thirst-quenching character. Silky textures and layered complexity come from the best wines. They often have a slight pencil shaving character that sits wonderfully in the wines. For anyone who may not be aware of Cabernet Franc‘s wily charms or who believes that this grape incapable of producing fabulous wines, Chinon is the place to look!

In the Vineyard

The Domain has 32 hectares of vineyards spread across the AOC Chinon, in Cravant les Coteaux and Chinon. The grape is grown primarily Cabernet Franc (90%) plus a small production of Chenin Blanc (about 10%). The vineyards are located on very varied terroirs of gravel in the plain, limestone clay on coteau and sandy limestones plateaus. This diversity offers us the possibility of applying piecemeal winemaking.

The vineyard has always been maintained according to environmentally friendly methods (no chemical weed killers) guided by observation and common sense depending on the climatic conditions of the year.

The entire vineyard is now conducted in organic farming since 2006.
A compost that we maintain ourselves based on cow manure and straw helps rebalance the organic matter in our soils. Phytosanitary interventions are mainly limited to the use of copper, sulfur and natural plants such as horsetail and nettles.

They control the growth of the vine by partial disbudding but we are looking at what is the vine find itself its own production of balance according to the richness of the soil and climate of the year.

Where in the world is Bernard Baudry?

The Loire Valley is scattered over 175,000 acres stretching from the Atlantic Ocean across to central France. Cover such a large region it is natural that it’s been broken down into sub-regions that specialise in the growing of specific varieties. Baudry is in the middle-Loire in the village of Chinon.

The Loire Valley Wine Group produced a quirky little primer for the regions, varieties and styles produced across the Loire Valley.