Great Bourgueils from Stéphane Guion! Last Call for the Beautiful 2012s from Bernard and Matthieu Baudry!!

9/1/15 -

(Photos by Isaac Rosenthal (www.ikesight.com))

Stéphane Guion, whose family has been farming organically since 1965, makes some of the most terroir-expressive and ageworthy wines in Bourgueil, and at prices that make the wines easily affordable to all! The 2014 vintage, which was looking disastrous as of mid-summer that year, has turned out to be excellent in the Loire Valley thanks to great weather beginning in mid to late August.

​Clockwise from top right: Below and above the Grand Monts, Stéphane Guion and Eben Lillie in the cellar, vines in the Grand Monts vineyard.

Stéphane's 2014 "Domaine" cuvée has just arrived and it's absolutely sensational, showing the lush, supple fruit and bright acidity of this vintage. At $11.99 (discountable!) it's worth buying by the case to drink over the next 5 to 8 years. Also newly arrived is a small quantity of the superb "Cuvée Deux Monts." From 80 year-old vines in Petit Mont and Grand Mont on the upper slopes of Bourgueil, this is a wine for the ages, best drinking probably 2030 to 2040.

We first tasted the 2012 reds from Bernard and Matthieu Baudry in February of 2013. We were thrilled by the perfect balance, shimmering fruit, bright acidity and moderate alcohol of these beautiful wines. They are not as "big" as the 2010s but are remarkably pretty and even more expressive of the soils in the Baudry's great vineyards. We purchased as much of these wines as we could and are happy to offer our last inventory of "La Croix Boissée" and "Le Clos Guillot" - these are simply outstanding Chinons that belong in your cellar. In addition, we have just received a small additional quantity of the Baudry's wonderful 2012 "Cuvée Domaine." Mostly from a great parcel in Saint-Louans, this earthy and delicious wine drinks beautifully now but will repay ten to twenty years of aging. A 2005 tasted last week was fabulous, if a bit young, and the 1989 is still going strong!

We wish we had more Baudry Rosé available, but happily we have in stock the complex and delicious Bourgueil Rosé from Stéphane Guion which has recently arrived. This is a serious rosé of terroir that is lovely now and will improve over the next year - save some for next summer perhaps, or enjoy all winter long! When I think of wines I would like more of in my cellar, both these growers are at the top of my list. Lovers of the Loire Valley, or of any complex, mature wines should consider all the wines in today's email, which will bring great enjoyment for many years to come...