Patrick Baudouin: Wines
Patrick Baudouin directs the harvest of his fruit by hand, with the sweet botrytis-driven wines being harvested in the necessary tries, typically between four and six, the last tri sometimes not carried out until November. Once in the cellar what happens to the fruit depends on the variety and the cuvée in question, as I explain in more detail below.
The range of Anjou Blanc cuvées opens with Effusion, the entry-level wine made from a selection of parcels on the slopes of the Layon, the vines planted on rocks which Patrick refers to as “effusive”, hence the name. The vines are about thirty years of age on average, and may be picked in two tries. The fruit is fermented by indigenous yeasts in barriques bourguignonnes which are several years old, and the malolactic fermentation is spontaneous. The élevage takes place in the same barriques, on the fine lees, and the wine receives a dose of sulphites prior to bottling.
Other white Anjou cuvées include Les Gâts, sourced from 1.07 hectares of vines planted on schist in 1947, situated on the left bank of the Layon. Better known perhaps is Le Cornillard (pictured above), from a schistose slope the runs down to the Layon; there are just 0.85 hectares of vines here. In addition there is Les Saulaies, from 1 hectare of vines on the left bank of the Layon. These three cuvées are each picked in a single tri, otherwise the vinifications are similar to that described above. New to the range of cuvées parcellaires in the 2024 vintage is La Pierre au Carré, from a 1.67-hectare parcel of vines planted in 2008 on a small butte directly outside the hamlet of Ardenay on the Corniche Angevine.
