Domaine Bernard Baudry Le Clos Guillot Chinon Cabernet Franc 2017
Available at 2 stores
Ratings on Delectable
Lyle Fass 
Founder Fass Selections
At dinner at Le Cabotte. Entering a gorgeous drinking window. The nose is classic Chinon, loaded with red currant, crushed herbs, mineral dust, and hints of cassis. Beautiful Cabernet Franc herbaceousness, not green or vegetal, but alive. Red currants, crushed herbs, a little tobacco leaf, iron, stone, and that unmistakable Loire freshness. The fruit has enough generosity from the vintage to give a subtle fleshiness underneath the structure. The palate is all tension and energy. Incredible freshness, mouthwatering acidity, and a long mineral spine carry the wine across the palate. Unlike Baudry’s larger, more powerful bottlings, this is about movement. The fruit feels suspended in the acidity, and every sip seems to pull the next sip forward. After forty minutes of air, the wine became even more expressive. The red currant and herbaceous notes moved to the forefront, joined by gorgeous minerality and tremendous freshness. It is not thick or heavy like Cabernet Sauvignon, nor does it possess the density of Baudry’s biggest cuvées. Instead, it is all acid, tension, energy, and precision. Juicy, vibrant, and effortlessly drinkable, with the kind of electric persistence that makes great Cabernet Franc impossible to put down.
At dinner at Le Cabotte. Entering a gorgeous drinking window. The nose is classic Chinon, loaded with red currant, crushed herbs, mineral dust, and hints of cassis. Beautiful Cabernet Franc herbaceousness, not green or vegetal, but alive. Red currants, crushed herbs, a little tobacco leaf, iron, stone, and that unmistakable Loire freshness. The fruit has enough generosity from the vintage to give a subtle fleshiness underneath the structure. The palate is all tension and energy. Incredible freshness, mouthwatering acidity, and a long mineral spine carry the wine across the palate. Unlike Baudry’s larger, more powerful bottlings, this is about movement. The fruit feels suspended in the acidity, and every sip seems to pull the next sip forward. After forty minutes of air, the wine became even more expressive. The red currant and herbaceous notes moved to the forefront, joined by gorgeous minerality and tremendous freshness. It is not thick or heavy like Cabernet Sauvignon, nor does it possess the density of Baudry’s biggest cuvées. Instead, it is all acid, tension, energy, and precision. Juicy, vibrant, and effortlessly drinkable, with the kind of electric persistence that makes great Cabernet Franc impossible to put down.
9.3
Delectable Wine
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From one of Baudry’s top limestone sites. Aged 12 months in 2- to 5-year-old barrels, then rests for nine months in cement tanks. Still young and rambunctious, very juicy and full of energy, very like Pinot-like. It’s one of the fruitier Baudry expressions, with lots of black and sour cherry, some blackberry and tomato, and light stoniness on the finish. Give this a year or two and it will pay back your patience. (Jason Wilson, Vinous, July 2020)
From one of Baudry’s top limestone sites. Aged 12 months in 2- to 5-year-old barrels, then rests for nine months in cement tanks. Still young and rambunctious, very juicy and full of energy, very like Pinot-like. It’s one of the fruitier Baudry expressions, with lots of black and sour cherry, some blackberry and tomato, and light stoniness on the finish. Give this a year or two and it will pay back your patience. (Jason Wilson, Vinous, July 2020)
9.3
Brian Grech
At Noosh
At Noosh
9.1
Kevin DeBernardi
Wowza. Gorgeous surprise recommendation.
Wowza. Gorgeous surprise recommendation.
9.1
