Visits to Touraine Producers-Baudry, Huet, Foreau...

Vicinity of Tours, France
Tasted Monday, October 22, 2012 - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 by drwine2001 with 1,132 views

Flight 1 - Huet (11 Notes)

I must say that this was a disappointingly variable range compared to the many great wines I have had from this domain. In particular, the set of 2011 secs was mediocre, lacking intensity and concentration.

Flight 2 - Bernard Baudry (11 Notes)

Tasting with the engaging, generous proprietor was a pleasure in and of itself, but the wines themselves were revelatory, perfectly displaying the attributes of their respective vintages and sites, and possessing textural allure that is unusual for Loire reds. The range of 2010 Chinons is nothing short of brilliant. This visit was clearly the highlight of our swing through the region.

  • 2011 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boissée

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    Light yellow. Fresh citrus nose. Good texture. Lovely salty, mineral finish. This had so much more snap than most of the 2011 Loire whites we tried.

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  • 2011 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    Olive aromatics. Good acidity and quite tannic, yet somehow supple and approachable with good texture already.

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  • 2011 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Domaine

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    From barrel. Lightly herbal, black cherry fruit. Light, supple with a sour cherry aspect. Less tannic than the Grezeaux, for earlier drinking.

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  • 2011 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    From barrel. Deep purple. Not fruity but deeply fruited with red and black fruit and a good dollop of spiciness. Completely different from the domain wine. Delicious and also will drink early compared to more structured vintages of this cuvee.

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  • 2010 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Domaine

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    Medium ruby. Floral, stony, lean and fine with more fruit than herbs. Reticent and reserved although clearly excellent.

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  • 2010 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    Lighter color than the domain wine. Anise and a touch of olive. Light, fine and focused with tremendous acidity. Not lush or sexy, but a beautifully pure rendition of light weight Loire Cabernet Franc.

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  • 2010 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    Deepest 2010 to this point. Brooding and smoky, very little in the way of herbs but deep blackberry fruit. Lush, tannic, serious and ageworthy. Impressive stuff that is well beyond most red wine from this region.

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  • 2010 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    Dark ruby. Not very forthcoming. The fruit is currently locked up behind a wall of acidity, stoniness and tannin, but the lovely, harmonious feel tells you that it is there. Noble, elegant, long young wine with a fascinating saline finish. It is poised for a long run and may be one of the greatest young Chinons I have ever tasted. Fantastic young red that should be great.

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  • 2009 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Franc de Pied

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    From ungrafted vines. Ripe cassis that is so different from the black fruit of the 2010s. Wonderful, sinuous mix of lush ripe fruit and olive tones. This was the only red we tasted here in which the finish was dominated by the fruit rather than minerality or tannin. I personally prefer the classic style of the 2010s, but it's hard to argue with the utter deliciousness of perfectly ripe fruit in this wine. Apparently not imported into the U.S.

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  • 2004 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    Medium light red. Typical underripe vintage nose of dill and green herbs. Saline, light, elegant, high acid. Just on the border of being a bit meager, certainly not a generous wine. Not bad at all. OK, when you taste through such a spectacular range of wines, something has to bring up the rear, and this was that wine.

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  • 2005 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

    (10/23/2012)

    Good color, tawny rim. Excellent complex tart red fruit that has a baked character to it. Excellent acidity and some remaining tannins. This still needs about 5 years to fully resolve and become more gentle.

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Flight 3 - Francois Chidaine (7 Notes)

It was interesting and instructive to taste the difference between the Vouvrays and Montlouis of the same year, with the former wines generally showing more concentration and interest. Elegant style overall, many good 2007 wines in the range.

Flight 4 - Taille aux Loups (Jacky Blot) (8 Notes)

From the wines we tasted, we could only conclude that this is not one of the top flight producers in Touraine. Again, the 2011 wines were rather slight.

**Addendum-It's been brought to my attention that the Bourgueils appear under the Domaine de la Butte label rather than Taille aux Loups. My apologies for the confusion.

Flight 5 - Foreau (3 Notes)

As below, a very limited sample, but the quality and purity of the wines at each level of sweetness were striking. This visit did nothing to reduce the extremely high esteem I have for this estate-bravo!

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