Baudry, Domaine Bernard

  • Chinon, Loire, France
Domaine Bernard Baudry

Thank you to importer Louis/Dressner for this producer profile: 

(Click here for more on  Louis/Dressner's website and here for Baudry's own website)

Bernard Baudry founded his eponymous estate in the early 1980's with a couple inherited hectares. After graduating from the Lycée de Beaune, he quickly rose to prominence in the appellation for precise, textured Chinon. Today, Bernard is technically retired (vignerons never really retire) and his son Matthieu, who has been making wine with his father since 2000, has taken over as head vigneron. Over the years, the father and son team's fascination with Chinon's diverse terroirs have led them to expand the estate to its current 32 hectares.

The first release and most youthful wine is "Les Granges". This is from young vines (25 years old) planted on alluvial soil and gravel near the Vienne riverbed. When it floods in some springs, Baudry may be found pruning the vines from a boat. This is a wine that is supple and fruity with smoky cherry fruit and is meant to drink young. It is a perfect wine for simple foods and cheeses.

The "Cuvée Domaine" is a blend of parcels of older vines (30-35 years old) planted in alluvial gravel bed and hillside clay. It has more structure and can use a short aging period in bottle before drinking. The wine has deep, dark ruby color and is beautifully extracted.

"Les Grézeaux" is from vines of 40 years on average, planted on gravely soil with a bedrock of limestone and clay. For many years it was aged in but today it is only fermented and aged in large concrete vats.

"Clos Guillot" is a four hectare plot of vines Bernard replanted in 1995 on a site abandoned since World War 2. It ferments in concrete and is aged in barrel.

Finally, "Croix Boisée" comes from the Baudry's "Grand Cru" vineyards, two hectares exposed full south on clay and limestone. Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc is planted here and two separate wines are producee under the "Croix Boisée" label. These are are a much more structured affair, hence their fermentation and aging in barrel.

A small amount of Chinon Blanc and rosé is also produced; both have a cult following and sell out instantly.

Image Producer PRODUCT Description Country / Region

DB0305-22
Organic
Baudry, Domaine Bernard Chinon Blanc
2022
Chenin Blanc
100% Chenin Blanc. From around 1.2 hectares' worth of parcels of 10-20-year-old vines on clay soils featuring limestone and flint. The...
France

DB0431-22
Organic
Baudry, Domaine Bernard Chinon Rosé
2022
Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc. The fruit for the rosé comes from estate parcels of flinty alluvial soils mainly. The vines are on the younger side....
France

DB4672-20
Organic
Baudry, Domaine Bernard Chinon "Les Mollières"
2020
Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc. 2020 is the first individual bottling of this particular 1-hectare plot, Mollières, which previously was incorporated...
France

DB0306-21
Organic
Baudry, Domaine Bernard Chinon "Les Grézeaux"
2021
Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc. The Grézeaux vines are the Baudry’s oldest at around 50 years and were the very first part of the estate in 1975. They...
France

DB8967-22
Organic
Baudry, Domaine Bernard Chinon "Les Granges"
2022
Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc. The Granges vines are an 8-hectare site along the Vienne River in Cravant, just below the winery. They are around 20...
France

DB0378-20
Organic
Baudry, Domaine Bernard Chinon "La Croix Boissée"
2020
Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc. Croix Boissée is in Cravant, near the winery, on a south-exposed slope overlooking the Vienne River. The Baudry...
France

DB8968-21
Organic
Baudry, Domaine Bernard Chinon "Clos Guillot"
2021
Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc. Close to the town of Chinon, Clos Guillot is a hillside vineyard with south-southwest exposure, near the top of the...
France