Patrick Baudouin, 2023 Update
Despite his veins seemingly flowing with the juice of Vitis vinifera, the scion of an Angevin family who had tended vines on the slopes of the lower Layon for four generations, Patrick Baudouin came to wine relatively late in life. Perhaps we should not be surprised; while his great-grandparents were committed vignerons, enjoying success with their wines which they sold under the label Clos des Bruandières, his grandparents did little more than keep the vineyards ticking over, and his parents had no interest in viticulture at all. Patrick left home as a young man, to seek his fame and fortune elsewhere, and it was only when his grandparents decided they were to retire that he returned to his native soil to take over the family vineyards.
Since doing so he has shaped, polished and honed his winemaking skills, and fine-tuned his portfolio of vineyards, in the process fashioning a high-quality portfolio of wines which speak, above all else, of authenticity. Wines made with respect for the land from which they come, from discrete parcels of vines (occasionally blended, when frost dictates that this is so) including some in the Quarts de Chaume appellation (hence the Anjou Ronceray, pictured), with no secret additions of sugar, enzymes and yeasts, all with organic certification. Minimal use of sulphites (admirable, but not always a success – see my notes below) complete the picture.
And what is more Patrick is active outside the domaine, working to improve the image of the entire region, campaigning against chaptalisation when producing sweet wine, engaging with and driving forward new initiatives with colleagues in South Africa, and providing energy and support for the creation of a new cru system in Anjou.
