Baudry, Bernard 2022 Chinon Le Clos Guillot

Le Clos Guillot is a beautiful south-east facing vineyard, just east of the town of Chinon, above the Clos de l'Olive and adjacent to Le Chene Vert. The upper slope of the parcel is clay over limestone (the lower part has sand and gravel over the rock, which permitted a tiny separate production from franc de pied vines, now mostly deceased) and the vines are relatively young, planted from 1993 to 2000. Fermentation in wooden cuves, 12 months of aging in three to ten year-old barriques, 9 additional months in unlined cement vats. The 2022 Clos Guillot is a truy great wine, an incredibly elegant combination of gorgeous complex red and black fruits, an intense mineral backbone and perfect acidity, beautifully balanced, without excess weight and with remarkable purity. In my humble opinion it represents one of the greatest values in fine wine to be found anywhere on the planet! Tasted twice, in the Baudry cellar in February 2023 and with Mattheu in Angers in February 2026. Condensing my sketchy notes, they say "2/3 cement, 1/3 3 year-old barrel. 'full of energy, enormous potential says Matthieu' Bright black color, pure, floral, gorgeous fruit, not heavy, vibrant, long, beautiful..." If you need more detail, here is the review from the leading Loire writer, Chris Kissack "An elegant yet explosive nose here, with notes of rose, dark chocolate, roasted coffee bean, black olive tapenade and the freshness of cherry stones. The palate is elegant and shows more restraint than I expected given the rather exotic themes encountered on the nose. It is beautifully poised, with grip yet finesse, the former coming to dominate in the midpalate, where complex notes of blood orange, white peach and peony come to the fore. A very serious style, correct and delineated, developing more texture by the second time I tasted it, with a firm and tightly grained core of tannins. It finishes with a beautiful, saline, mouth-watering flourish of mineral tension. It shows a very calcaire rather than clay style this year, which only amplifies its deliciousness. A remarkable vintage for Le Clos Guillot." Given its wonderful freshness and beautiful fruit, the wine will be delicious young but will really sing after 10 years in the cellar and at least until 2042-2045+.