Bernard Baudry, with his son Matthieu, fashions his wines in the most terroir-expressive way possible, making five different single-vineyard cuvées of cabernet franc in Chinon. They now farm 32 hectares of grapes, 90% of which is cabernet franc (basically the same percentage for the Chinon appellation as a whole).

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Cab franc was brought from Bordeaux to the Loire Valley by monks around the 11th and 12th Centuries. For varietal wines, the mid-Loire is now the most famous growing area in the world for cab franc, with Chinon as its flagship village (the Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny AOCs are close behind). Chinon is actually located on the Vienne River, a tributary of the Loire, just upstream from the confluence.

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The Clos Guillot vineyard is located on a slope just east of the town, and sits on 100% calcaire jaune, or yellow limestone (aka tuffeau in the Loire). This is the most expressive soil for cab franc, bright and mineral-driven.

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There's lots of herbal cassis and sour cherry/blackberry on the nose, brambly and hefty on the palate, with fine tannins that are perfect at the moment. Delicious with lamb, or if you can hold off until fall (or buy more bottles!) it crushes it with butternut squash and pumpkin dishes with rosemary and thyme.