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2018 Chinon “Les Grézeaux”
Bernard Baudry
From where I write, the early autumn breeze is just starting to hint of dried leaves, and the evening light has taken on that copper glow so familiar to fall. Finally! The beginning of the end of this strange year! While I hum Eva Cassidy’s haunting interpretation of “Les Feuilles Mortes,” I am reminded not only of fall’s melancholy tone, but also of a certain depth and richness to the changing of seasons. The comfort of settling in for the winter—that’s the feeling I get the minute I put my nose in a glass of Baudry’s Chinon Grézeaux. The very name suggests its gravelly terroir and earthy structure: a natural choice for this time of year. It has a meaty quality that calls for hearty, cool-weather fare in ample proportions. Thanksgiving dinner, for example.
—Emily Spillmann
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Cabernet Franc |
Appellation: | Chinon |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Bernard Baudry |
Winemaker: | Matthieu & Bernard Baudry |
Vineyard: | 65 years, 3 ha |
Soil: | Gravel |
Aging: | Aged for twelve months in barrel and are not fined or filtered |
Farming: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 13.5% |
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About The Producer
Bernard Baudry
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmeridgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
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2023 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
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2020 Vin de France Rosé Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Les Arceaux”
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Champalou France | Loire
2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
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2023 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
Régis Minet France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Bourgueil “Les Perrières”
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2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
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2023 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
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Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.