WTN: Touch of Grézeaux

[David M. Bueker]

• 2014 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (1/25/2026)
  Took a while to open up, but when it did there was all the Chinon goodness in one place. Dark red fruit, earthy/loamy, a touch of tobacco, and excellent acidic balance made a mouth filling impression while staying on the lighter side of medium bodied. Fine balancing act. Drink now or likely any time over the next ten plus years.

Love this wine in pretty much every vintage, but the 14 was one of my favorites. Drank a bunch of these young as it was hard to resist then (still have 3 stashed away in storage - too few, honestly), and it sounds terrific now. But I'll try and keep my hands off these a while longer. (That '96 I had recently was revelatory and gave me reasons to be a lot more patient with these.)

I had a bottle of this earlier this year (CT indicates that I gave away my other bottle -- FOOL!) and it was just as you described. Very youthful still, but so pleasurable now.

I have some 2017 Les Granges I've been waiting to try - never sure with Chinons. A few more years I think!

Excellent title.
I think I have a couple of these (and a couple '14 Le Clos Guillots)
Bill, I don't think you really need to hold the Granges, it's the young vine cuvee designed for early drinking (though I've had nice 10-12 year old bottles). It's what they sell to bistros for at release sale.

Thanks, Dale - I put a bottle on the to-be-tasted-soon table