Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée: 2010 "The Beautiful Surprise!"
2/12/13 -
The great 2010 Baudry La Croix Boissée has just arrived in New York and we take this opportunity to feature all four of the Baudry's top wines from this vintage. Having begun with Bernard Baudry in 1989, we take great pleasure in featuring this group of wines from this quite different, but perhaps equally excellent year. Our first tasting of these beautiful wines was in February of 2011 - it was immediately evident that something wonderful had happened in Chinon!
Matthieu Baudry's notes on the vintage: "La Belle Surprise! After a season mixed and more chaotic than 2009, the year 2010 knew exactly how to straighten itself out. The spring was correct and quite dry with a classic flowering towards the fifth of June; the bunches were less numerous than the year before. The summer was punctuated by storms but without incident in the vines or problems with disease, and we only needed four (organic) treatments at weak doses. There was a long dry period between mid-June and the end of August and the grapes became concentrated without stress to the vines. We feared the worst ten days before the harvest because of heavy rains in Chinon, but the grape skins were quite thick and rot did not set in, so the harvest was able to begin under a little rain but with magnificent grapes. This resulted in concentrated wines, more juicy and balanced than the ripe 2009s. The 2010 vintage is a grand classic of the Loire which will delight lovers of freshness and elegance."
Bernard Baudry stated with 2 hectares in 1975. He and his son Matthieu currently have 30 hectares in Cravant, Chinon and Saint-Louans which they tend with organic methods. Their vinifications are carefully designed to express their quite varied terroirs. This is one of our favorite estates in France, with the authenticity and quality of the wines matched by the personalities of the family.
The 2010 Croix Boissée is a beautiful Chinon with sensational balance, complexity and structure. It will provide fabulous drinking over the next 25 to 30 years. The 2010 Cuvée Domaine, 80% from a parcel of clay/limestone in Saint-Louan, 20% from a gravel/limestone parcel in Cravant, is a miracle of earth, soil and dense, balanced fruit - drink it now or in 10 years. The 2010 Les Grézeaux, is, in my opinion, the best since 1989 - it's cool, elegant fruit will last for 20 years and more. And the young vines in Le Clos Guillot produced one of the prettiest and most Burgundian of Chinons in 2010 - a great wine for drinking until 2033! My solution, even at age 63, is to put away a case of each of these wines, thus ensuring happiness and long life - we suggest you do the same! 10% discount on 12 btls or more. (Photo: Eben Lillie, Bernard Baudry, Charles Joguet, Matthieu Baudry) DL
