A week ago I met fellow afwer Santiago in the Loire on his now
annual pilgrimage. As well as an opportunity to see what was new
at Baudry and make a first visit (for me) to Huet, a chance to
have a nice lunch with Santiago.

I made very sketchy notes throughout, but FWIW here they are.

At Baudry we were received royally by Bernard and son Matthieu,
with the latter doing most of the hosting but the father
popping in and out, usually glass in hand, and giving us
lots of commentary. I was a little late -- my GPS missing an
autoroute, fer gossakes -- but all had graciously delayed the
tasting.

We began in the tasting room:

07 Granges: a nice "vin de soif" I would have bought a case if
we hadn't been so rushed at the end. Cherry nose, bright fruit,
unfiltered, classic and typical early drinking Chinon, herbs, grass.

Into the cave and from the barrel, things got quick and I didn't have
a surface to write on so notes got sketchy:

07 Domaine: riper, blackberry, body, tannic, finish a little weak.

07 Clos Guillot: nice fresh, round, good structure, bright cherry,
tannic, OK, good length, a little wine but nice.

07 Grezeaux: concentrated nose, kirsch, dry tannic finish

07 Guillot Franc de Pied ('97 burg barrel): herbacious, more bell
pepper, very primordial chinon type

07 Guillot Franc de Pied (01 burg barrel): much more precise nose,
brighter fruit but less fat in mouth

07 Croix Boissee (older burg barrel): closed nose, better mouth but
still very tight

07 Croix Boissee (03 bordx barrel): incredibly more precise in the
front palate liquorish and herbs come out

07 Croix Boissee (04 bordx barrel): more feminine (Santiago disagrees),
less complete lacks (illegible)

same but with 3 yr burg barrel almost untoasted: more tannic but
better, frank fruit, fine finish, really different.

Back to the table,

06 Domaine: very ripe, balance? near term drinking, atypical

06 Clos Guillot: nose of tabac, fruit confit, long acid finish
lemony, rather curious.

2nd bottle: very lemon, tight tannic finish

3rd bottle: much better than the other two (although it took me
a while to see it, not as acid finish, all agree other is
fruit scalped.

A discussion of screwcaps followed, both pere et fils are in
favor, we may see these closures in the not too distant future.

06 Croix Boissee: mute nose but nice spice and round fruit, acid
and tannic, good aging potential and structure, very mineral,
chalk.

07 croix boisee blanc: sweet chenin nose, honey and orange peel,
pain d'epice, lively acidity, finish a little sharp.

05 croix boissee blanc: an obviously damaged and funky nose, but
interestingly terrific in the mouth, a big well balanced chenin
with miles to go. The Baudrys said the funk blows off in 24
hours, I think it would be a hard sell anyway, although I'd
put a couple of bottle down myself to see what might happen.
Santiago is going to perform the experiment and hopefully
report here.

Bernard pulled some strings to get us into the restaurant after
2pm, (never easy in France), and so we had a nice lunch
in Azay, with a bottle of Baudry 2002 (and a relief not to have
to spit!) I didn't take notes, just enjoyed.

Then on to Huet, where we were very well received by the nice
young lady working there. My notes are even briefer.


sec:

01 Brut pettilant: cake/yeast mouth grapefruit plus rind, pleasant.

01 sec (cremant): nose less masked, agrumes, well balanced, long,
lemon tart

99 method trad Brut: grapefruit rind, cream, custard

06 Haut Lieu sec: "peu parlant" citrus, vanilla

06 le Mont sec: rounder cream and lime, nice nose

07 Haut Lieu sec: roses, limes, in nose perfume store, exotic
fruit, pineapple, passion fruit, violets (I bought)

07 Clos du Bourg sec: great structure, depth and balance, quiet nose

demi-sec:

06 le Mont DS (20g): quite dry, discreet and a little short

07 Haut Lieu DS (21.3g): very pretty, orange confit passion fruit,
citrus rind, medium long

01 le Mont DS (22g): lemon meringue nose, cream and candied citrus,
classic, huge acidity and balance. (I bought)

moelleux:

07 Clos du Bourg: nuts and sweet cake, candied pear, elegant

06: clos du Bourg 1ere Trie: nose clove and honey, ginger, big
rich beautiful balance

96 le Mont 1ere Trie: lovely opulent liquor nose, candied flowers,
long and powerful, custard, lemon curd, pear, un regal.

An enjoyable day spent with a friend and wine folks who saw us
under the best conditions, never hesitating to open another bottle
if one seemed tired, and of course taking considerable time from
their busy schedules. I particularly enjoyed the tasting from
different barrels at Baudry, hearing the wine makers discuss the
relative merits of each type, age and toast.

Interestingly at least at these 2 producers the disastrous 07
is presenting itself better than the only slightly less
disastrous 06...

The only "bemol" being that on the way home in my spanking new car
(3 days old) I hit a deer in the forest a km from the house.
Unbelievable, even if the damage isn't extensive (just the bumper
and compressor). Still, Santiago, I did get over 50 miles per gallon,
and this is supposed to go up as the engine wears in. So some
good news, anyway!

Looking forward to next years visit, Santiago!

-E

On Oct 29, 6:02�am, Emery Davis > wrote:
> A week ago I met fellow afwer Santiago in the Loire on his now
> annual pilgrimage. �As well as an opportunity to see what was new
> at Baudry and make a first visit (for me) to Huet, a chance to
> have a nice lunch with Santiago.
>
> I made very sketchy notes throughout, but FWIW here they are.
>
> At Baudry we were received royally by Bernard and son Matthieu,
> with the latter doing most of the hosting but the father
> popping in and out, usually glass in hand, and giving us
> lots of commentary. �I was a little late -- my GPS missing an
> autoroute, fer gossakes -- but all had graciously delayed the
> tasting.
>
> We began in the tasting room:
>
> 07 Granges: �a nice "vin de soif" I would have bought a case if
> we hadn't been so rushed at the end. �Cherry nose, bright fruit,
> unfiltered, classic and typical early drinking Chinon, herbs, grass.
>
> Into the cave and from the barrel, things got quick and I didn't have
> a surface to write on so notes got sketchy:
>
> 07 Domaine: riper, blackberry, body, tannic, finish a little weak.
>
> 07 Clos Guillot: nice fresh, round, good structure, bright cherry,
> tannic, OK, good length, a little wine but nice.
>
> 07 Grezeaux: concentrated nose, kirsch, dry tannic finish
>
> 07 Guillot Franc de Pied ('97 burg barrel): herbacious, more bell
> pepper, very primordial chinon type
>
> 07 Guillot Franc de Pied (01 burg barrel): much more precise nose,
> brighter fruit but less fat in mouth
>
> 07 Croix Boissee (older burg barrel): closed nose, better mouth but
> still very tight
>
> 07 Croix Boissee (03 bordx barrel): incredibly more precise in the
> front palate liquorish and herbs come out
>
> 07 Croix Boissee (04 bordx barrel): more feminine (Santiago disagrees),
> less complete lacks (illegible)
>
> same but with 3 yr burg barrel almost untoasted: �more tannic but
> better, frank fruit, fine finish, really different.
>
> Back to the table,
>
> 06 Domaine: �very ripe, balance? �near term drinking, atypical
>
> 06 Clos Guillot: �nose of tabac, fruit confit, long acid finish
> lemony, rather curious.
>
> 2nd bottle: �very lemon, tight tannic finish
>
> 3rd bottle: much better than the other two (although it took me
> a while to see it, not as acid finish, all agree other is
> fruit scalped.
>
> A discussion of screwcaps followed, both pere et fils are in
> favor, we may see these closures in the not too distant future.
>
> 06 Croix Boissee: mute nose but nice spice and round fruit, acid
> and tannic, good aging potential and structure, very mineral,
> chalk.
>
> 07 croix boisee blanc: �sweet chenin nose, honey and orange peel,
> pain d'epice, lively acidity, finish a little sharp.
>
> 05 croix boissee blanc: �an obviously damaged and funky nose, but
> interestingly terrific in the mouth, a big well balanced chenin
> with miles to go. �The Baudrys said the funk blows off in 24
> hours, I think it would be a hard sell anyway, although I'd
> put a couple of bottle down myself to see what might happen.
> Santiago is going to perform the experiment and hopefully
> report here.
>
> Bernard pulled some strings to get us into the restaurant after
> 2pm, (never easy in France), and so we had a nice lunch
> in Azay, with a bottle of Baudry 2002 (and a relief not to have
> to spit!) �I didn't take notes, just enjoyed.
>
> Then on to Huet, where we were very well received by the nice
> young lady working there. �My notes are even briefer.
>
> sec:
>
> 01 Brut pettilant: cake/yeast mouth grapefruit plus rind, pleasant.
>
> 01 sec (cremant): nose less masked, agrumes, well balanced, long,
> lemon tart
>
> 99 method trad Brut: grapefruit rind, cream, custard
>
> 06 Haut Lieu sec: "peu parlant" citrus, vanilla
>
> 06 le Mont sec: rounder cream and lime, nice nose
>
> 07 Haut Lieu sec: roses, limes, in nose perfume store, exotic
> fruit, pineapple, passion fruit, violets (I bought)
>
> 07 Clos du Bourg sec: great structure, depth and balance, quiet nose
>
> demi-sec:
>
> 06 le Mont DS (20g): quite dry, discreet and a little short
>
> 07 Haut Lieu DS (21.3g): very pretty, orange confit passion fruit,
> citrus rind, medium long
>
> 01 le Mont DS (22g): lemon meringue nose, cream and candied citrus,
> classic, huge acidity and balance. �(I bought)
>
> moelleux:
>
> 07 Clos du Bourg: nuts and sweet cake, candied pear, elegant
>
> 06: clos du Bourg 1ere Trie: nose clove and honey, ginger, big
> rich beautiful balance
>
> 96 le Mont 1ere Trie: lovely opulent liquor nose, candied flowers,
> long and powerful, custard, lemon curd, pear, un regal.
>
> An enjoyable day spent with a friend and wine folks who saw us
> under the best conditions, never hesitating to open another bottle
> if one seemed tired, and of course taking considerable time from
> their busy schedules. �I particularly enjoyed the tasting from
> different barrels at Baudry, hearing the wine makers discuss the
> relative merits of each type, age and toast.
>
> Interestingly at least at these 2 producers the disastrous 07
> is presenting itself better than the only slightly less
> disastrous 06...
>
> The only "bemol" being that on the way home in my spanking new car
> (3 days old) I hit a deer in the forest a km from the house.
> Unbelievable, even if the damage isn't extensive (just the bumper
> and compressor). �Still, Santiago, I did get over 50 miles per gallon,
> and this is supposed to go up as the engine wears in. �So some
> good news, anyway!
>
> Looking forward to next years visit, Santiago!
>
> -E

Thanks for notes, sounds like you had a good time.
The Baudry FdP here doesn't seem to have the Guillot designation - is
that new?
I usually buy the Granges for near term and the Grezeaux for aging.
Never saw the '01 Huet bubbly here, I think we had 98 (good), 00
(good) and then 02 (great).
Thanks for the notes on the '96 le Mont 1er, I think both Dr. Lipton
and I have that.
Really sorry about the car!

DaleW wrote:

> I usually buy the Granges for near term and the Grezeaux for aging.

Me too, and the Croix Boissee for longer-term.

> Thanks for the notes on the '96 le Mont 1er, I think both Dr. Lipton
> and I have that.

Nope, me gots the '96 CdB 1er. Still, good to hear about its sibling.

> Really sorry about the car!

Yes. What a bummer. I hope that the great wines you tasted helped
soften the blow, so to speak, Emery.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Mark Lipton wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
>
>> I usually buy the Granges for near term and the Grezeaux for aging.
>
> Me too, and the Croix Boissee for longer-term.
>

I think the 07 Croix will be a good example, a real wine maker's wine.

Interestingly Matthieu said that this was one of the rare wines that
his father -- an unalloyed perfectionist -- is happy with.

>> Thanks for the notes on the '96 le Mont 1er, I think both Dr. Lipton
>> and I have that.
>
> Nope, me gots the '96 CdB 1er. Still, good to hear about its sibling.
>

I'll bet that's a really nice one too.

>> Really sorry about the car!
>
> Yes. What a bummer. I hope that the great wines you tasted helped
> soften the blow, so to speak, Emery.
>

Thanks. A bummer, but no big deal really. I only wish I could have
recuperated the deer, but she made off. Anyway the insurance covers
the car, even the franchise, which is apparently paid for by some sort
of hunter's fund. Bless 'em.

-E