Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Friday, December 11, 2020 - The flagship Chinon of Bernard Baudry, coming from a 15-40 yo vineyard planted on chalky soil. Fermented spontaneously, macerated with the skins for 20 days in oak vats and then aged for 24 months in 1-3 yo oak barrels. 13,5% alcohol.

Quite concentrated, somewhat developed and almost fully opaque blackish-red color with a slightly figgy hue. Open, somewhat sweet-toned and even slightly claret-y nose with aromas of ripe blackcurrants, some funky notes of old leather and barnyard, a little bit of dusty old wood, light notes of tobacco, a subtly herbaceous hint of cooked bell pepper and a sweet touch of volatile lift. Overall the nose feels wonderfully nuanced and quite seductive, but not particularly herbaceous. The wine feels dry, dense and structured on the palate with a moderately full body and a taste that leans quite heavily on rustic, bretty funk. Intense flavors of fresh blackcurrants, stable floor, some ferrous notes of blood, a little bit of tobacco, light gravelly mineral tones, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of burnt hair. The overall feel is very structure-driven, thanks to the high acidity and still remarkably ample, firm and grippy tannins. There's a subtle streak of acetic character that lends a hint of roughness and burn in throat as the taste segues into the long, dry and rather tannic aftertaste. There are quite intense flavors of fresh blackcurrants and crunchy crowberries, some barnyardy notes of bretty funk, a little bit of cooling peppermint lift and a herbaceous hint of cooked bell pepper in the aftertaste.

Despite being a very intense, concentrated and broad-shouldered Chinon, this is a surprisingly tough, lean and austere effort as well, leaning more heavily in savory non-fruit flavors and bretty funk than on fruity qualities. Despite being rather heavy on bretty side of things, the wine is very harmonious and enjoyable - not in small part due to the funky, bretty notes and phenolic qualities playing so well to the crunchy, savory overall taste of the wine and its firm tannins. If the normal style of Baudry is more Burgundian, this vintage of La Croix Boissée feels much more like a classic, cold, old-school Bordeaux. It's not a crowdpleaser wine by any means, but if you are not afraid of assertive tannins and a healthy dose of brett, this is a very lovely wine indeed. It is still relatively youthful for its age and calls for further aging, at least to tone down some of that structure. If opened now, the wine could really use some hearty food - just to soften those tannins a bit. A great, rustic wine.

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