2013 Bernard Baudry, Chinon Rouge, La Croix Boissee, Loire Valley, France.
This Baudry Cabernet Franc is not showy or flamboyant, but amazingly pure and shines with an inner gorgeousness of detail, terroir and depth, this Chinon is for Loire Cabernet Franc lovers, it’s a stunning example of varietal and place, it just knocked my socks off completely. The 2013 La Croix Boissee Chinon by Baudry is surprisingly from younger vines, all organic from a hillside plot of Cabernet Franc on clay, limestone and sand, all southern facing for the best exposure, it was fermented in wood tanks with 24 months in 1 to 3 year old barrels. This unfiltered Cab Franc is very dark in the glass with deep garnet hues and opaque at the core, it starts with an earthy nose of loamy notes and subtle violet perfume with dusty red and black fruit with a medium bodied vibrant palate of black cherry, wild plum, tangy raspberry and cranberry fruits as well as tar, anise, chalk and mineral. The tannin is ripe and silky, but drying and a touch tart, so be sure to have with food, this beauty will stay mostly hidden without cuisine to bring out it’s full charm, seductiveness and personality, this Cabernet Franc from Baudry as the same kind of impact as a young Barbaresco or Roero Nebbiolo gives, this is serious stuff, focused and high strung now, but should entertain for years to come. The lightness of the finish, which lingers with lavender, cedar, bell pepper and kirsch, suggesting there is most to come in a few years time in bottle, the acidity is still strong and needs to full resolve, but with food everything changes for the better here, that’s when the magic happens and this wine hits it’s best notes, without question a stellar effort and classy Chinon.
($44 Est.) 92+ Points, grapelive
