Domaine Patrick Baudouin - Anjou Le Cornillard 2012

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

Patrick Baudouin worked in a thousand different professions before establishing himself as a bookseller in Paris. It was at the age of 40 that he decided to return to the family domaine, which was living off a hectare and a half. His readings helped him rediscover the essence of the great Layon liquoreux wines, before beet sugar and almost systematic chaptalization smoothed out these golden wines. As a purist, he has chosen the path of excellence, without compromise. When he started out in 1990, he only made sweet wines. Encouraged by François Raveneau, a leading Chablis winemaker, he began growing dry white wines in 2001. With 14 hectares of vines (including 10 hectares of Chenin, with one hectare in Quarts de Chaume and 90 ares in Savennières), located on the most spectacular terroirs of Anjou Noir (schist, sandstone and volcanic rock) and cultivated organically, he and his loyal assistant Christophe Durand (who joined in 2012) chisel out magnificent whites. A model estate, a must-see for those seeking the unadulterated identity of Chenin.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

A series of high-flying white Anjous: barely coated with light sugars, Le Cornillard has a generous profile, but we'd like a little more depth.

About the domain :

Patrick Baudouin, an energetic sixty-something, fought to impose the production of natural sweet wines in Layon at the end of the 20th century. This former Parisian bookseller, who returned to the land of his ancestors in Anjou in the early 1990s, has had his share of ups and downs. The arrival of a majority financial partner (Union Harmonie Mutuelles) has enabled the estate to acquire additional resources and achieve high quality objectives. The work undertaken is bearing fruit, and the wines have never been so accomplished, with fine reds but above all white Anjous illustrating the diversity of the terroirs and, in the sweet category, an admirable quarts-de-chaume. More than ever, Patrick Baudoin plays an active role in promoting Anjou chenin.