2024 Bernard Baudry Chinon Rose, Loire Valley

The 2024 Chinon Rosé sports an attractive pale-pink hue and a delectable texture. Sourced from a one-hectare parcel, the flint-rich soil lends a little grip and freshness. It has a nice savory note and red fruit provides complexity. The 2024 saw full malolactic fermentation is done and spent some time on lees, both of which give a roundness and ease before the 2024 finishes with firm drive.

91 points Rebecca Gibb MW vinous.com

Bernard Baudry Chinon Rosé is a wonderful expression of Cabernet Franc grown in one of the Loire Valley’s most characterful corners, the historic town of Chinon where vineyards follow the curves of the Vienne River and climb gently up onto limestone and gravel slopes. These soils are the secret to the wine’s style. The sandy gravels near the river give bright, juicy fruit and aromatic lift, while the famous tuffeau limestone higher up brings a dry, chalky minerality and a subtle savoury edge. Bernard Baudry is one of Chinon’s most respected growers, a farmer first and foremost, working organically with low yields and old vines to capture the true voice of these sites rather than pushing ripeness or heaviness. Even in rosé form, this wine is deeply connected to its terroir and carries the quiet confidence of a serious vigneron.

In the glass the wine is a luminous pale salmon, releasing aromas of wild strawberry, red currant, blood orange, rose petal and a hint of freshly cut herbs that immediately mark it as Cabernet Franc. The palate is bone dry and beautifully structured, layering crunchy red berries with citrus zest and a fine, stony grip that keeps everything precise and refreshing. There is real depth beneath the brightness, a gentle savoury note that makes it incredibly versatile at the table. It shines with charcuterie, grilled prawns, tuna, tomato based dishes, roast chicken and fresh goat’s cheese, and it also has the balance to evolve for several years, gaining more spice and earthy nuance as it matures.