Bernard Baudry, 2014 Chinon ‘Clos Guillot’
Cab Franc du Jour #87
Bernard Baudry is among the upper echelon of vignerons in the Chinon appellation. Among their top single lieu-dit wines, those that truly reward patient cellaring, are La Croix Boissée in the commune of Cravant-les-Côteaux and Le Clos Guillot in the commune of Chinon.
The Chinon Commune
The Chinon commune is one of the most complex in the appellation in terms of terroir variability. Unlike the neighbouring commune of Cravant-les-Côteaux to the east, where the vineyard slopes and aspects follow a more legible pattern, the vineyards around the village of Chinon face in virtually every direction, with significant implications for sun exposure and ripening from one parcel to the next. Soils too can shift dramatically between parcels that are only metres apart.
In broad terms, the soils of Chinon fall into four main groups. On the lower-lying terraces on both sides of the Vienne River, we find the alluvial soils typical of the riverbanks. On the chalky limestone slopes, all three Turonian tuffeau chalks are present: the Lower, Middle, and Upper Turonian, each with slightly different properties. At higher elevations, two further soil types appear: the heavier clays mixed with sands and flint from the Senonian and Eocene eras, and Quaternary-age alluvial soils including colluvium and wind-blown sands and silts. All four of these broad groups are found somewhere within the Chinon commune, depending on slope orientation, aspect, and elevation.
Le Clos Guillot
Le Clos Guillot is located on the slopes set back roughly 1.5km northeast of the Vienne River, on a beautiful south to southeast-facing slope that sits just above and behind the famed Clos de l’Olive. The Baudry family acquired their 3 hectares here in 1991 and planted the vines between 1993 and 2000.
The bedrock is Upper Turonian yellow tuffeau chalk, which has a few distinctive characteristics worth understanding. It is the youngest of the three Turonian tuffeaux geologically, and it is harder and denser than the others, with very good drainage but comparatively lower moisture retention. When exposed as stones on the surface, this chalk also tends to be warmer than its counterparts. Its presence is often signalled visually by the notably brown and ochre tones in the topsoil, a contrast to the slightly different hues associated with vineyards on the white Middle Turonian tuffeau.
In terms of the topsoil at Clos Guillot, Matthieu explained that there is a meaningful depth of predominantly clay, running approximately 50 to 80cm. That clay depth provides good water retention and also contributes to a slightly cooler soil environment overall. As a result, these parcels, alongside those from Les Grézeaux, have performed particularly well in some of the warmer vintages of recent years, where the clay’s moderating influence has helped preserve balance and freshness.
In the Cellar
The fruit is hand-picked and destemmed, then fermented as whole berries in a combination of concrete and wooden vats with indigenous yeast. Skin maceration runs approximately two weeks, with only light pump-overs at the start of fermentation. The wine is then aged in older barrels for about 12 months, followed by a further nine months in concrete before bottling.
Wine Details
Producer: Bernard Baudry
Appellation: Chinon
Commune: Chinon
Lieu-Dit: Clos Guillot
Soil: 50-80cm of predominantly clay topsoil, on the Upper Turonian yellow tuffeau bedrock
Alcohol: 13.0%