2018 Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissee

The Domaine’s top cuvée hails from a parcel of 30- to 50-year-old vines on very chalky, white limestone soils above Baudry’s cellars in Cravant-les-Côteaux. Here, the south-facing aspect, altitude and soil produce Chinon’s longest-living and most elegant wines. It’s a site that Baudry believes suits Burgundian-style élevage (although the wine sees no new oak). So, natural yeast fermentation in open wooden casks is followed by 18 months maturation in old Burgundian pièces. Again, the wine is bottled without filtration.

Coming from such chalky soils, La Croix Boissée’s trademark is aromatic intensity and vibrant freshness, combined with a deep charge of mineral-edged fruit, sitting it in contrast to Baudry’s two other site-specific cuvées (Le Clos Guillot and Les Grézeaux).

Other Reviews....
The ripeness of the 2018 vintage gives an almost Syrah/Viognier character to the Chinon La Croix Boissée, which offers sweet black fruit and a creamy apricot note. Sumptuous yet never ever opulent, it's almost as if the wine's just done a yoga class. Plentiful tannins give the inside of your cheeks a chalky rub, while there's surprising freshness considering the ripeness, leading to a lengthy finish. This is a baby that will turn out to be a great adult. Drink 2024 - 2038.
96 points
Rebecca Gibb MW - Vinous

The 2018 Chinon La Croix Boissée displays a deep, intense and elegant bouquet of dark fruits intertwined with black tea aromas. Silky, crystalline and elegant on the palate, this is a full-bodied, fresh and refined Chinon that is slightly leathery toward the finish, which is long, intense and vivacious and has lingering salinity. The tannins are fine, elegant and well integrated yet still palatable. The 2018 might have some volatile acidity, but this makes it a true classic of the appellation and an authentic Baudry. Great aging capacity. Tasted in June 2021. Drink 2025 - 2045.
93 points
Stephan Reinhardt - Wine Advocate (Aug 2021)

Tasted from barrel, this is the Baudry’s top cuvée, from the famed limestone terroir of the same name. After the charm of the 2018 Le Clos Guillot it was difficult to imagine how this could lift its game, but it does of course. This presents a surprising intensity on the nose, exploding with crushed summer berries, fresh cherry stone, perfume with rose petal and peony scents. The palate is so focused and pure, very correct and framed, with an elegant style. It has chalky tannins and it feels firmly gripped, beating Le Clos Guillot in terms of style, while remaining very true to the Chinon appellation. This is nothing short of fabulous.
97-99 points
Chris Kissack - The Wine Doctor