Bernard Baudry
Not long after I bought my house south of Chinon I called in on Domaine Bernard Baudry and toured the vineyards with Matthieu Baudry, riding shotgun in his camion, a lumbering and yet agile hulk painted a battleship grey. We drove out across the appellation, to Les Grézeaux, the original Baudry vineyard that sits just across the road, then to Les Granges, a low sandy mound barely rising above the plain of the Vienne and which is naturally prone to flooding. Indeed, it was often said Bernard would prune these vines from his rowing boat if he had to. Then we headed out past Bernard’s world-famous vegetable garden and up to La Croix Boissée, one of the appellation’s most coveted lieux-dits, on a steep south-facing slope above the town of Cravant-les-Coteaux. There wasn’t time to check out Le Clos Guillot (“we will do that when you come next time”, Matthieu reassured me – and he was true to his word) but there was, of course, time for a tasting at the domaine before we parted company.
These days I meet Matthieu regularly, and while Bernard occasionally pops his head in to say hello, or to join our tasting, usually he is nowhere to be seen. Matthieu has been in charge here for more years than I can now remember; he first studied and worked in France and abroad, returning to join his father in 2000, taking over the running of the estate some years later. Whenever Bernard appears, though, I am reminded of my inaugural visit to the domaine, more than a couple of decades ago, when of course it was Bernard who greeted me, and showed me around the domaine.
My First Visit
It was sometime around the turn of the century that I had first called in on Bernard Baudry. Thinking back, I am not sure how I arranged it; I don’t recall making the appointment myself but, to be fair, it was a long time ago and my memory has faded. It is possible that I made it through a merchant friend, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I may simply have turned up, tourist-like, eager and full of hope. This was many years before I dreamed of attending the Salon des Vins de Loire, or before I began making dedicated tasting trips to the Loire Valley. I was here on holiday, and simply dropped in. It’s not something I do any more; these days I always make an appointment.
