WTN: Baudry Chinon, J Colin Puligny

No wine Thursday, board meeting with Chinese takeout then a run to city.

I’m not usually a cooked fruit guy, but for some reason a recipe for sausage, onions and grapes appealed to me, and I had some excellent chorizo. So a quick sheetpan dinner, and the 2023 Baudry “Les Granges” Chinon. This is pretty classic “bistro Chinon”, light but with good persistence. Fresh black currant and cherry, smoke, a rosepetal floral note. Good acids, light tannins, drink this so your Grezeaux, Clos Guillot, and Croix Boissee can mature, B+
It did well with the dish, but next time might try rose bubbly

Instead of our usual oyster starter got some Nantucket bay scallops and made a little ceviche (radish, turnip, avocado). Then halibut cheeks, pasta with mushrooms, puntarelle. Wine was the 2021 Joseph Colin “La Garenne” Puligny-Montrachet 1er. A light reductive/matchstick note on nose to start, dissipates with air. Pear, white nectarine, lemon zest. Somewhat flinty finish. This should age (Diam 30 so not really worried re premox), but with air I really enjoyed now. A-/B+


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[David M. Bueker]

Not sure why I never bought more of that Baudry cuvée. Perhaps the fact that Grezeaux was/is so reasonably priced.

I have the 2017 Baudry Les Granges, but to be franc, I haven't got into it yet. Your note prompts me to pop a cork, perhaps for a dinner I'm attending in a couple of days. I shall hopefully avoid any rough Touraine....

[David M. Bueker]

Alert! The ghost of Thor Iverson has hacked Bill Spohn's login.

Not sure why I never bought more of that Baudry cuvée. Perhaps the fact that Grezeaux was/is so reasonably priced.

The Grezeaux is the "better" wine, and only slightly more. But the Granges is easier to drink young, and that has its place! Bill, although the Granges is the "drink now" wine, I've had several with 10+ years, never been a problem. But groan at the pun.

Had similar thoughts about the Baudry Cuvee Domaine, after opening that and the Grezeaux on consecutive nights earlier this month. Both were delicious, and I love the mineral/slightly rustic aspect to Grezeaux that emerges with more age, but I was struck at how close they were in terms of quality at this point and just how good the Domaine was. I've usually bought Grez/CB, but this is a good reminder I need to buy more Domaine + Les Granges (and as Dale said, drink them young while letting Grez + CB mature).

Had similar thoughts about the Baudry Cuvee Domaine, after opening that and the Grezeaux on consecutive nights earlier this month. Both were delicious, and I love the mineral/slightly rustic aspect to Grezeaux that emerges with more age, but I was struck at how close they were in terms of quality at this point and just how good the Domaine was. I've usually bought Grez/CB, but this is a good reminder I need to buy more Domaine + Les Granges (and as Dale said, drink them young while letting Grez + CB mature).

And let us not forget about Le Clos Guillot which, though younger than Grezeaux and CB, is now coming into its own as a top lieu dit.

I've generally been in the 'like but don't love' camp with Guillot for a lot of vintages, which is why I tended to focus my buying on Boissee and Grezeaux instead. But I grabbed a 2020 recently as a case-filler and really enjoyed it.

Not sure if you've tried the newer Les Mollières bottling though - I had the '20 a couple of months back, found it surprisingly fruit forward and relatively underwhelming. Tasty, but lacking the earth/other non-fruit dimensions.