Baudry-Dutour Chinon Amaranthe 2020

The Baudry family has owned the Domaine de la Perrière in Cravant-les-Coteaux (the principal village of the Chinon appellation) since 1398. Christophe Baudry is the current owner and the 6th generation of the domaine. In 1990 Christophe’s father, Jean Baudry--brother of highly reputed producer Bernard Baudry--handed him the reins of the domaine. Meanwhile, in 1993 Jean-Martin Dutour took over the winemaking duties at a neighboring Chinon domaine called Domaine de la Roncée. After developing a friendship over a decade, in 2003 these two highly respected vignerons decided to join forces at both domaines, subsequently buying two other châteaux in Chinon and releasing the wines from these 4 properties under the overarching Baudry-Dutour name. Christophe is in charge of the business side of things, while Jean-Martin oversees work in the vineyards and wineries. Both are committed to making great wines but at the same time reducing their environmental impact. Thus they farm their various Cabernet Franc parcels using the principles of lutte raisonée. These parcels are spread across the Chinon appellation, mostly on terraced vineyards with soils of ancient alluvium deposited by the long-ago course of the Vienne River. From the old vine parcels (called clos) they produce their ageable wines, wines that are vinified separately plot-by-plot, and then spend time in the domaine's barriques. However they also highly value their younger vine wines, which are vinified (again, each plot separately) and aged in all stainless steel and made with very little intervention to allow the pure fruit character of each plot to shine through.