The arrival of the 2010 Baudry Chinon Cuvée Domaine is really a reason to rejoice. This small production from Bernard and Matthieu is one of my favorite house reds, with the added bonus that it ages beautifully as well. While it must be said that this vintage is not as ready to drink as in past years, it is a wonderfully balanced and complex Chinon and a superb value at the price. Decant or open the night before if drinking now, cellar five to ten years for peak enjoyment. Our second shipment of the Baudry's magnificent 2010 Les Grezeaux has also arrived, and if this superb wine is not in your cellar, it should be. The gravel terroir also makes this gorgeous wine a great delight when young! Moving backwards in time we are offering the unique 2004 Chinon Les Roches from Alain and Jerome Lenoir. This tiny estate in Beaumont produces one of the most old-fashioned wines in the appellation, giving us a delicious glimpse of Chinons from before the war. While 2002 was a truly great vintage for white wines in the Loire, the reds have always seemed to be under-achievers. The 2002 Olga Raffault Les Picasses gets more and more interesting as it ages, with one of the most secondary flavor profiles of any recent Chinon. The first vintages we bought from Olga Raffault were 1987 and 1988, two somewhat difficult vintages that were difficult to sell - "where's the fruit?" said the critics. And then, fortunately, came 1989, the greatest vintage for Loire reds since 1947. Any chance to obtain a few more bottles should be taken advantage of. While 1990, being the second warm dry year, produced wines with a bit less acidity and balance, the wine is aging well and it too will bring great pleasure to lovers of old Chinon. While we may be singing to the choir, we think that fine Chinon is one of the worlds greatest wines to cellar, regardless of price! (Please 2 - bottle max per person on the 89 and 90. Hopefully the Raffaults will keep the small quantities coming in. All wines discount 10% with a 12-bottle purchase)
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Baudry 2010 Chinon Les Grezeaux
2010 is a great vintage for Les Grezeaux, perhaps even better than the superb 2009. Baudry's two cuvees on predominantly gravel terroirs, Les Granges and Les Grezeaux, seem perfectly balanced in this less-ripe vintage, and the old vines in Les Grezeaux have yielded a beautiful wine. The aromas are complex and lovely with floral red and black fruits, the palate is balanced, earthy and long with ripe strawberry, cherry and black fruits that are persisitent and balanced with a super refreshing finish. Les Grezeaux is a precocious wine, always enjoyable in its youth, and yet there is acidity and strucure here that will allow long term aging, as the happy owners of the great 1989 - still drinking beautifully - can attest to. This wine is very highly recommended - it will bring great pleasure for many years and is a beautiful example of the great work being done by Bernard and Matthieu Baudry and family. (Case price $23.39 per bottle)
Raffault, Olga 2002 Chinon Les Picasses (4/24)
On our first visit to Domaine Raffault, a push-pin was put on New York on the world map to show their first export to the US, Olga told a few off-color jokes and Ernest kept bringing older and older bottles from the cellar. I remember thinking how the less than great vintages showed beautifully - light, fragrant, complex, gamey, vegetal? and delicious. 2002, while a great vintage for whites, was a bit less successful for reds in the Loire. The 2002 Les Picasses seemed a bit light on release, but time has revealed a lovely Burgundian Chinon, with pretty citrus, plum and strawberry aromas, with hints of smoke, leather and wet earth. Soft and lovely on the palate with nice depth of gamey, chalky red fruits, tobacco and spice. Lovely, and it will just keep on going...
