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Patrick Baudouin Coteaux du Layon Les Bruandières 2004

Patrick Baudouin owes his presence in the Anjou region partly to his great grandparents, and partly to the French wine journalist Jacques Dupont.

It was Patrick’s grandparents, Louis and Maria Juby, who acquired a small parcel of vines in 1920, and decided to set up as vignerons, establishing the domaine which would eventually be passed to Patrick. The transition was not a smooth one though; the next generation – Patrick’s grandparents – turned to teaching instead, and Patrick’s parents had a similarly low level of interest in the vines. They kept a hectare or two, but it was not their livelihood; presumably the fruit went to a local négociant or co-operative. Eventually they moved to Paris, leaving the vines behind, with young Patrick – at the time just seven years old – in tow.

Dupont’s role was to relight the fire within Patrick. Having been active in the protests in Paris in 1968, Patrick eventually settled into a career as a bookseller. Twenty years after the student demonstrations, to mark the occasion, he placed a few (presumably empty) bottles of the 1968 vintage in the window of his bookshop. Passing by one day, Jacques Dupont was intrigued, and in he went. The two struck up a friendship, and when Jacques learned that Patrick had a hectare or two in Anjou, his eager and envious response galvanised the young-ish Patrick into action.

By 1990 Patrick had locked up his librairie for the last time, and was back in Anjou. Thirty-five years have since passed, and today Patrick is one of the leading lights in the region. An advocate for the character and qualities of Chenin Blanc, he is also a key figure at the head of the Académie du Chenin, as well as a driving force behind the slowly rumbling evolution of a cru system in Anjou. Outspoken on key drivers of quality, including organics and chaptalisation (which was once rife in the region, even for sweet wines), he has risen to the position of elder statesmen, an inspiration and mentor to dozens of local vignerons.

His wines aren’t bad either.

Patrick Baudouin Coteaux du Layon Les Bruandières 2004

Having built up his first hectare or two with subsequent acquisitions, today Patrick tends close to 14 hectares, all of which were converted to certified organic methods about twenty years ago. Many of the parcels have an iconic position in the portfolio, and first among them is Les Bruandières, as it is in this lieu-dit we find the vines which were acquired by the Juby great-grandparents, more than a century ago.

The lieu-dit of Les Bruandières – or Clos Bruandières as it is named on the French cadastral maps – is located on the right bank of the Layon, a bend or two downstream of the settlement of St-Aubin-de-Luigné, one of the seven villages (including Chaume) of the Coteaux du Layon appellation. Patrick owns vines in three small parcels within the lieu-dit, all of which are quite low down the south-facing slope. Their position ensures they receive plenty of warm sunshine, but it also places them close to the cool waters of the river, and the romanticised mists which roll up these gentle slopes, encouraging the development of botrytis. Les Bruandières is a perfect spot for sweet wine.

The geology is also vital. All three parcels of vines sit on the Sillon de Houiller, the complex Carboniferous coal-bed formed in the rift alongside the Layon, and which is dominated by seams of sandstone, schiste gréseux (which I translate as partly metamorphosed sandstone, let me know if you know better) and psammite (fully metamorphosed sandstone), as well as all the petrified organic material, ash and tuff you would expect in a Carboniferous terroir. Les Bruandières is an archetypal Carboniferous cuvée; another was the Clos de la Soucherie from Château Pierre-Bise, a cuvée sadly discontinued. Planted in 1991 and 1992, the vines in Les Bruandières now have more than thirty years behind them, although at the time of the 2004 vintage they were barely ten years old, and were in their third year of organic conversion.

Picked by hand, as you would expect for a botrytised cuvée (although this is true for all Patrick’s wines), the yield was a microscopic 5 hl/ha, comprising the final tri from the vines, picked in November. The bunches were pressed, the juice allowed to settle over 24 hours, before a slow fermentation in used oak barrels, on their second, third or fourth fill. This was completed, as you would expect if you know Patrick and his wines, without chaptalisation, by naturally present indigenous yeasts. In the glass at over twenty years of age, the 2004 Coteaux du Layon Les Bruandières from Patrick Baudouin shows a honeyed gold hue, with a peachy intensity. The nose is rich and toasted, with dark veins of caramelised fruits, tar and liquorice, as well as little notes of coffee bean and a twist of oxidising driftwood. The palate follows the lead of the nose, with a bitter freshness, a dry and savoury grip, and a controlled sweetness. All the same it is nicely textured, with all the complex suggestions apparent on the nose found here. This is a great result for this vintage, which was not an easy one for sweet wines – indeed, it wasn’t that easy for the dry ones, either. Drink now. The alcohol on the label is 14%, while the residual sugar a relatively modest 94 g/l. Just 800 bottles were produced. 93/100 (1/9/25)

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