WTN: Baudry House

Bernard Baudry 2003 Chinon Domaine, $16
What a terrific wine. This has a great nose of black cherry, herbs (sage and oregano) and some earth and smoke. The palate follows almost precisely with a grainy texture, decent structure and good acidity. Deeper and darker fruit than a typical Chinon but the vintage doesn’t cause it to lose any positive qualities, such as acidity, complexity and structure. Makes a great match with chicken parmesan. Importer: Louis/Dressner.

Domaine Girard 2004 Sancerre La Garenne, $19
A vibrant nose is dominated by citrus fruit and flowers at first, and then with time in the glass, herb, grass and chive aromas. On the palate, there is bright citrus fruit (orange and lemon perhaps), accented by growing amounts of herb, chive and mineral. Very smooth, great acidity, classic Sancerre. Excellent match with homemade vegetarian fried rice. Importer: Louis/Dressner.

Thierry Puzelat 2002 Touraine Pinot Noir La Tesnière, $18
Fairly sharp cranberry/strawberry/cherry with earth, cinnamon and mushroom nuances, turning bitter on the finish. The bitterness fades with food and it goes very nicely with fondue. Nevertheless, I’m not crazy about this style of Pinot Noir; much as I like acidity, this has a few too many sharp edges. Two days later, it’s similar but really improves with food, the edges smoothing out and some complexity becoming apparent. Importer: USA Wines, Inc., a World Wide Wines Selection.

Bodegas Navarro Lopez 2001 Valdepeñas Pedro Pergolas Old Vines Tempranillo Crianza, $6
This seems a little extracted and oaky on opening but it quickly calms down into a more balanced, classically Spanish tempranillo with rich fruit and good acidity and accented with a modest dose of spicy oak that does not dominate. Excellent food wine and a great match with Cuban-style black bean soup. Terrific QPR too. Importer: Kysela.

Marcarini 2003 Barbera d’Alba Ciabot Camerano, $15
Rich, earthy, dusty, smoky grape and black cherry fruit on the nose and palate. Fairly rich, yet with good balancing acidity. Not overly extracted and seems to have avoided the worst of the vintage. Good food wine and an excellent match with penne in tomato sauce with veggie Italian sausage. Three days later, the nose is a little muted but still pleasant, while the palate is great, with some smoke and chocolatey nuances added to the fruit. Importer: Empson, Inc.

Bernard Baudry 2003 Chinon Domaine, $16
What a terrific wine. This has a great nose of black cherry, herbs (sage and oregano) and some earth and smoke. The palate follows almost precisely with a grainy texture, decent structure and good acidity. Deeper and darker fruit than a typical Chinon but the vintage doesn’t cause it to lose any positive qualities, such as acidity, complexity and structure. Makes a great match with chicken parmesan. Importer: Louis/Dressner.

I remember drinking this last year, delicious stuff.

Thierry Puzelat 2002 Touraine Pinot Noir La Tesnière, $18
Fairly sharp cranberry/strawberry/cherry with earth, cinnamon and mushroom nuances, turning bitter on the finish. The bitterness fades with food and it goes very nicely with fondue. Nevertheless, I’m not crazy about this style of Pinot Noir; much as I like acidity, this has a few too many sharp edges.

How did this taste 2 or 3 years ago? Might be a bit old for a Puzelat red wine?

I remember drinking this last year, delicious stuff.

Indeed. In fact, I have yet to have a Baudry wine of any vintage and any bottling that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. If memory serves me correctly, I believe it was that positive tasting note you posted that helped me get over my 2003-phobia, at least for this wine.

How did this taste 2 or 3 years ago? Might be a bit old for a Puzelat red wine?

It might be, but I've never been crazy about this wine at any point in its development. Here is a note on the 2002 from March of 2005: "The nose is dominated by a strong women’s perfume smell. On the palate, sharp acidic strawberry fruit with a beety, cooked carrot element, as well as some earth and minerals. Tastes like Gamay, not Pinot Noir."

I've had several vintages of this bottling, consumed at anywhere from 2-5 years of age and it has a distinctive, consistent style, but not really what I'm looking for in an $18 Pinot Noir (I love Sancerre rouge, so I'm partial to light-bodied, acidic Pinots -- this just goes too far in that direction for me). It does improve with food, though.

I remember drinking this last year, delicious stuff.

Indeed. In fact, I have yet to have a Baudry wine of any vintage and any bottling that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. If memory serves me correctly, I believe it was that positive tasting note you posted that helped me get over my 2003-phobia, at least for this wine.

Sounds good. I very much enjoyed the 03 Domaine, CB, and Grezeaux, and wish I had some to drink now and see how they are doing.

I very much enjoyed the 03 Domaine, CB, and Grezeaux, and wish I had some to drink now and see how they are doing.

I have some bottles of the 2003 Grezeaux but haven't opened one yet. My experience with other vintages is that they're good medium-term agers (I had a 1999 not too long ago that was just signing), though of course 2003 may add an element of unpredictability to aging questions.

I have some bottles of the 2003 Grezeaux but haven't opened one yet. My experience with other vintages is that they're good medium-term agers (I had a 1999 not too long ago that was just signing), though of course 2003 may add an element of unpredictability to aging questions.

Yes, can't speak to 03. I also enjoyed a 99 this past summer that was really great and singing to me as well, in a mature way. But I also enjoyed an 89 last year that was less evolved than the 99 and I would guess the 03 will be more on that type of trajectory (loosely speaking).