Bernard Baudry, 2010 Update
There are some domaines where it is always a delight to taste the wines, and naturally Bernard Baudry is one such domaine. Well that’s my opinion, anyway, although it is possible I suppose that others might feel differently. Something that happened when I tasted at Baudry’s stand last year, at the 2009 Salon, suggested this possibility to me. I was midway through tasting Baudry’s range when another taster – an individual I knew by reputation, but was not personally acquainted with – began to taste alongside me. She did not keep her opinions of the wines to herself. “Smells like a wet dog” was her comment on the first offering, whilst the next was judged in a similarly peremptory fashion. “It reeks of sulphur” was her opinion this time. My eyes nearly popped out; believe me, there was nothing canine about any of Baudry’s 2007s, which were some of the best wines of the appellation in what was a difficult vintage. And, being sulphur-sensitive – for example, I find most of the non-vintage Champagnes at the annual CIVB tasting reek of the stuff, a characteristic that rides roughshod over every other possible aroma – I was certain Baudry’s wines had no such problem either.
Clearly, some of us live in very different taste-worlds.
But that was 2009. One year on and I returned to Baudry’s stand at the 2010 Salon, situated in its usual position, near the entrance to the main hall. I soon found myself tasting a selection of new wines, starting with some embryonic creations from the 2009 vintage, followed by a number of soon-to-be-bottled wines from 2008, with a single 2007 bringing up the rear. This time it was Bernard Baudry’s son, Matthieu (pictured), who talked me through the wines.
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