schiller-wine: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Domaine Bernard Baudry in Cravant-Les-Coteaux, Touraine

The Loire Tour 2025 by ombiasy WineTours took place from Sunday, October 5 to Thursday, October 16, 2025. The tour started in Nantes and ended in Sancerre, with a bus transfer and lunch in Paris. There were 9 of us including Annette and myself.

The next four days we divided our time between focusing on wine and history, i.e. visiting a few Loire Châteaux where history was written. It is fascinating how events taking place at some of these châteaux shaped France’s and eventually Europe’s course of history.

The Touraine wine region is the Loire Valley’s most diverse subregion. The climate is continental and the terroir is enormously varied: from chalky tuffeau to flinty-clay, some sands and gravels from the river’s deposits. Main grape varieties are Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc for the whites, Cabernet Franc, but also lots of fantastic Gamay, and Côt -the local name for Malbec- for the reds.

Delicious wines are produced from autochthone varieties such as Romorantin for whites, and Grolleau and Pineau d’Aunis for reds. The most famous appellations are Vouvray - always from Chenin Blanc - and Chinon - Cabernet Franc for red wines.

Today we focused on wines from the AOP Chinon. The medieval town of Chinon is also very important: it is steeped in decisive events having shaped the course of history of France. On the border between the three historical regions of Anjou, Poitou, and Touraine, the fortress-castle occupies a strategic place that was hotly contested in ancient times. From its rocky spur it dominates the entire territory, but also several centuries of history. It was here where the Plantagenêt court of Henry II. and Eleanor of Aquitaine was held and where Henry II. and his son Richard Lionheart died. Much later, in 1429 Joan of Arc met here with King Charles VII. to ask for providing her with an army to defeat the English which eventually ended the 100-year war and gave the territories north of the Loire and the Bordelais back to France after 300 years under English rule.

We started the day with a visit of Domaine Bernard Baudry in Cravant-Les-Coteaux, Touraine. The cellar master showed us the cellar, followed by a tasting.

Loire 2025 by ombiasy WineTours led by Annette Schiller

Annette Schiller in her announcement: What comes to your mind when you hear ‘Loire Valley’? Of course images of glorious Châteaux pop up in your mind. Yes that is true and we will visit some iconic château and dig deep into France’s history. However, during this wine tour we also discover a magnificent, but often overlooked French wine region and one of the most exciting best kept secrets of excellent, high quality wines at very reasonable prices. The Loire Valley wine region is a vast area and consists of several distinct wine regions, each with its own characteristic grapes, appellations, and wine style. We take you on a journey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Auvergne mountains to explore this unique region. We learn to appreciate “Sancerre”, "Pouilly-Fumé", “Vouvray", “Chinon”, as well as many other not so familiar appellations.

Domaine Bernard Baudry in Cravant-Les-Coteaux, Touraine (ombiasy WineTours)

“Bernard Baudry founded his eponymous estate in the early 1980's with a couple inherited hectares. After graduating from the Lycée de Beaune, he quickly rose to prominence in the appellation for precise, textured Chinon. Today, Bernard is technically retired (vignerons never really retire) and his son Matthieu, who has been making wine with his father since 2000, has taken over as head vigneron. Over the years, the father and son team's fascination with Chinon's diverse terroirs have led them to expand the estate to its current 70 acres.” Quote of their importer Louis/Dressner.

The only grapes grown on the estate are Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. The farming is certified organic, all wines are bottled without fining or filtering. Cravant les Côteaux’s moderate maritime climate is excellently suited to its cardinal grape: cabernet franc. But at the core of the region’s vinous character is the diversity of its soils.

The village takes its name from an old Gallic word for pebbles and the domaine’s vineyards encompass alluvial sands and gravelly flood plains of the Vienne river. (the town of Chinon does not sit at the Loire river, it is the Vienne river, a tributary to the Loire). The clay and limestone plots are further inland.

Domaine Bernard Baudry produces eight different wines: one Chinon Rosé, two estate wines: Chinon Blanc, Chinon Rouge ‘Domaine’, and four single vineyard wines to showcase the different terroir: three Cabernet Francs and one Chenin Blanc. It will be very interesting to compare the 3 Cabernet Franc grown on different soils.

Bernard Baudry (Louis Dressner)

Bernard Baudry founded his eponymous estate in the early 1980's with a couple inherited hectares. After graduating from the Lycée de Beaune, he quickly rose to prominence in the appellation for precise, textured Chinon. Today, Bernard is technically retired (vignerons never really retire) and his son Matthieu, who has been making wine with his father since 2000, has taken over as head vigneron. Over the years, the father and son team's fascination with Chinon's diverse terroirs have led them to expand the estate to its current 32 hectares.

The first release and most youthful wine is "Les Granges". This is from young vines (25 years old) planted on alluvial soil and gravel near the Vienne riverbed. When it floods in some springs, Baudry may be found pruning the vines from a boat. This is a wine that is supple and fruity with smoky cherry fruit and is meant to drink young. It is a perfect wine for simple foods and cheeses.

The "Cuvée Domaine" is a blend of parcels of older vines (30-35 years old) planted in alluvial gravel bed and hillside clay. It has more structure and can use a short aging period in bottle before drinking. The wine has deep, dark ruby color and is beautifully extracted.

"Les Grézeaux" is from vines of 40 years on average, planted on gravely soil with a bedrock of limestone and clay. For many years it was aged in but today it is only fermented and aged in large concrete vats.

"Clos Guillot" is a four hectare plot of vines Bernard replanted in 1995 on a site abandoned since World War 2. It ferments in concrete and is aged in barrel.

Finally, "Croix Boisée" comes from the Baudry's "Grand Cru" vineyards, two hectares exposed full south on clay and limestone. Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc is planted here and two separate wines are producee under the "Croix Boisée" label. These are are a much more structured affair, hence their fermentation and aging in barrel.

A small amount of Chinon Blanc and rosé is also produced; both have a cult following and sell out instantly.

Arriving