Bernard Baudry, 2017 Chinon ‘La Croix Boissée’
Cab Franc du Jour #138
Domaine Bernard Baudry is one of the Chinon appellation’s most beloved producers. Based in Cravant-les-Côteaux, the domaine farms about 32 hectares of organically cultivated vines across the communes of Cravant-les-Côteaux and Chinon, of which about 29 hectares are Cabernet Franc. What sets this estate apart from many in the appellation is its strong focus on single lieu-dit wines and the terroir expressions they yield.
Among these wines are Les Granges and Les Grézeaux, sourced from two very different terroirs on the alluvial terrace in Cravant-les-Côteaux; Les Mollières, the newest addition to the lineup, from a limestone parcel on the plateau in Chinon; Le Clos Guillot, from a lieu-dit on the premier côte in Chinon; and finally the jewel in the crown, La Croix Boissée, in Cravant-les-Côteaux.
La Croix Boissée
La Croix Boissée is one of the Chinon appellation’s most prized and historically significant lieux-dits. In 2018, it became the first vineyard in the appellation to be formally “elevated” to a special status with the creation of a monograph, a detailed document examining the site’s history, environmental factors, terroir, and the human influences that have shaped it over time.
Many centuries ago, this site was a troglodyte hamlet of the same name, located at the crossroads of several ancient paths. Archaeological research has uncovered evidence of viticultural and winemaking activity here dating to the middle ages, including presses and vats carved directly into the tuffeau limestone. The site appears on the Cassini map of the Kingdom of France from the mid-1700s and later on the Napoleonic land register of 1832, and up until the First World War there were still 12 inhabitants registered in this tiny hamlet.
The name La Croix Boissée has two origins. The first refers to the stone cross that once stood mid-slope, marking a resting point along religious pilgrimage routes through the area. The second derives from the tradition of laying boxwood twigs along a procession for people to walk over during Easter Sunday celebrations.
The Lieu-Dit
Today, La Croix Boissée spans 17 hectares, of which 13 hectares are planted to vine: approximately 10.5 hectares of Cabernet Franc and 2.5 hectares of Chenin Blanc. The site sits on a pronounced south-facing slope between 50 and 80m above sea level, about 2.5km back from the Vienne River, with the Arçon forest to the north providing protection from the cooler winds that would otherwise arrive from the northeast. The slope has a gently convex shape, which promotes excellent drainage and ensures strong sun exposure across the entire vineyard throughout the day. Taken together, these factors make La Croix Boissée one of the warmer sites in Chinon.
Three distinct terroir units are found across the lieu-dit. At the top of the slope, a narrow band of Upper Turonian yellow tuffeau chalk forms the bedrock. This chalk is harder and less porous than what is found lower on the slope, and the vines here can experience some water stress in drier years. Through the middle to upper portion of the slope, a wider band of Middle Turonian white tuffeau chalk, known locally as tuffeau de Bourré, takes over. Softer and more porous, it retains water somewhat better. Across both chalk zones, the topsoil is generally shallow, with textures ranging from sandy in some areas to sandy-silt and silty-clay in others. Finally, toward the southeast corner of the vineyard, a section of colluvium has accumulated over time from eroded materials of the two chalks above. Here the topsoil is deeper, with a greater mix of clay, silt, and sand, and good water-holding capacity.
Domaine Bernard Baudry Parcels
With a lieu-dit of this size, it follows that Bernard Baudry does not own the entirety of it. Around seven vignerons hold vines at La Croix Boissée in total. The Baudry family’s holdings amount to nearly 3 hectares at the centre of the lieu-dit, including about 2 hectares of Cabernet Franc and 0.9 hectares of Chenin Blanc. The Cabernet Franc vines are planted mid-slope, where the topsoil is somewhat deeper, with a clayey-sand texture running 50 to 80cm before reaching the Middle Turonian white tuffeau chalk beneath. The vines range in age from 15 to 40 years. The domaine acquired these parcels in 1993, and the fruit was initially bottled under the “Cuvée Signature” label for the 1993, 1994, and 1995 vintages before the La Croix Boissée name was adopted beginning with the 1996 vintage.
In the Cellar
The fruit is hand-harvested, hand-sorted, destemmed, and left uncrushed. Fermentation takes place in cement tanks with indigenous yeast, reaching a maximum temperature of around 30C. Matthieu performs a light pump-over of about 10 minutes every other day throughout, and total skin contact runs approximately three weeks. After the post-fermentation maceration, the free-run and press wines are blended together and aged first in older Bordeaux barrels sourced from St-Émilion for two years, followed by nine months in cement prior to bottling.
Wine Details
Producer: Bernard Baudry
Appellation: Chinon
Commune: Cravant-les-Côteaux
Lieu-Dit: La Croix Boissée
Soil: 50-80cm clayey-sand over the Middle Turonian white tuffeau chalk
Alcohol: 13.0%