Bernard Baudry Le Domaine Chinon 2020

The 2017 was Wine Spectator Top 100! This cuvée comes from their highest vineyard, which rests on a plateau of gravel, sand, and limestone, and it is arguably their best entry point into the charm of Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, lithe and less dense than the bottlings from their clay-and-limestone terroirs. Spontaneous fermentation and unfiltered bottling lead to a delicate, peppery wine with notes of blackberries, currants, and leather. Matthieu Baudry says the reds of Chinon are best enjoyed with food, and this particular bottling is versatile enough to accompany a wide range of plats, from lentil soup to charcuterie to roast chicken.

While Domaine Bernard Baudry is a relatively young Chinon estate, it is certainly one of the stars of the appellation. Bernard began in 1975 with 2 hectares in Cravant-lès-Coteaux and proceeded to build it to its current 32 hectares—90% of which is Cabernet Franc plus 10% Chenin Blanc—slowly but surely. The estate has been certified organic since 2006 but has been farmed without chemicals and with homemade compost and with active working of the soils for much longer than that. The fruit is all from the estate, is hand-harvested, destemmed, moved only by gravity; fermented with indigenous yeasts in cement tank; aged in a mix of cement tank and used barriques; never punched down; touched with very little sulfur; and bottled without filtration. Their wines are noted for exquisite precision, concentration and texture and are unquestionably among the finest and most expressive of the Chinon appellation.