Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges 2024

The Chinon Les Granges from Domaine Bernard Baudry comes from Cravant-les-Coteaux, in the heart of the Chinon appellation, in Touraine. The roughly eight hectares of vines stretch along the Vienne, near the estate, on gravels, mixed sands and terraces of recent alluvium. These light, warm soils, under a temperate Loire climate, give Cabernet Franc early-ripening, supple and vibrant fruit.

The vines, younger than those of the estate’s other cuvées, are farmed organically and harvested by hand. Fermentation, driven by native yeasts, lasts around fifteen days in concrete tanks. The wine is then aged for seven to ten months in concrete tanks, without oak, to preserve all the freshness and purity of the fruit.

This wine reveals notes of raspberry, cherry, strawberry, blackcurrant, violet, roasted red pepper, graphite and pepper. The nose, vibrant and juicy, combines crunchy red fruit with floral and spicy touches. The palate is supple and fresh, with fine, silky tannins, carried by lovely liveliness and a delicious, easy-drinking finish.

The cradle of wine culture in Western Europe, France owes its first vines to the Greeks of Phocaea, who settled around Marseille some twenty-six centuries ago, before the Romans spread viticulture along the Rhône and the Garonne and as far as Champagne. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian and Benedictine monks cleared the slopes of Burgundy and patiently mapped out the climats, laying the foundations of the notion of terroir. The 19th century brought the glory of the classifications, then the disaster of phylloxera, which wiped out the vineyards before they were rebuilt on American rootstocks; the creation of the appellations d'origine contrôlée in the 1930s then set the rules that would inspire the whole world. Today, France vies every year with Italy and Spain for first place in world production by volume and remains the ultimate benchmark of the Old World, as much for its age-worthy wines as for its winemaking models. Vineyards cover almost the entire country, from the cool north of Champagne and Alsace to the Mediterranean shores of Languedoc and Provence, by way of the oceanic climates of Bordeaux, the Loire and the South-West, continental Burgundy, the steep slopes of the northern Rhône and the high-altitude valleys of Savoie and the Jura. This mosaic of soils – limestone, schist, gravel or rounded pebbles – explains the extraordinary diversity of styles. As for grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate Bordeaux and produce structured reds, Pinot Noir is the signature of Burgundian finesse, Syrah of the depth of the Rhône, while Grenache, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Mourvèdre cover every register, from easy-drinking wines to wines for long ageing. Among the whites, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Riesling and Viognier offer expressions ranging from lively and mineral to unctuous, all the way to great sweet wines. A land of benchmarks and constant discoveries, France remains the compass for wine lovers the world over.