We paired the Bernard Baudry 2008 Chinon La Croix Boissée with stuffed pork chops made with a filling of bread, pecans, cranberry and rosemary, glazed with rosemary, and finished with balsamic. It was a spectacular pairing! As for the wine, it is very primary in dark fruit and I think the oak is not yet integrated, but there is very serious substance and Chinon typicity. All the pieces are present: mid-palate, minerality, savory flavors, balanced acid, ripe tannin. The pairing was great as the balance of savory (rosemary & pork) and tart (cranberry) to sweet (balsamic) was in parallel between the Croix Boissée and food.
The usual correlation between soil and my enjoyment played out here as well. The fruit for this particular wine is grown on tuffeau, a calcareous soil. Whatever the specific cause, the acidity is better balanced and there is more depth than one finds in a typical Chinon (or Bourgueil). Although these higher end cuvées often cost closer to $30, for me it is worth it to splurge on occasion as these have more body and superior aging upside than the sub-$20 Loire Francs.
The usual correlation between soil and my enjoyment played out here as well. The fruit for this particular wine is grown on tuffeau, a calcareous soil. Whatever the specific cause, the acidity is better balanced and there is more depth than one finds in a typical Chinon (or Bourgueil). Although these higher end cuvées often cost closer to $30, for me it is worth it to splurge on occasion as these have more body and superior aging upside than the sub-$20 Loire Francs.
- 2008 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, ChinonA major improvement over the Grezeaux per my taste, albeit still primary with unintegrated oak and dark fruits. Loads of potential. Medium body, medium acidity with a rounded mid-palate. A complete wine with beginning middle and end finishing savory with iron and 'mineral' flavor. Very pure black currant, similar to fruit-driven Chilean Bdx varietals in purity, albeit not bomby. Secondary flavors of red fruits, mint, pencil shavings, cedar and tobacco. Superb balance, though the tannins and oak do need to resolve as they are somewhat awkward now.Decanted 45 minutes after initial taste, then consumed over about ~3 hours. Expressed more Chinon typicity as it opened. This should be very interesting to follow over many years.
2 comments:
This is the one Baudry wine that I've never had. I'm sure that I'll try it soon enough. Sounds like you liked it a whole lot more than the Les Grezeaux.
Yeah, this was vastly superior to the bottle of '08 Grezeaux. Maybe that was an off bottle, shocked, dumb or otherwise incapacitated. But it wasn't good.
This was as good as the '07 Grezeaux, though the profile is different. Definitely darker fruit with more overt structure. '07 Grezeaux was more slurpable in a stony mineral-juice sort of way.
So far I'm 50-50 on Baudry. Two wines were total misfires, two were legitimately world class wines per my taste. If you can track this cuvee down, buy multiples and age some.
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