Baudry/Bernard Chinon Clos Guillot 2018

98 points Chris Kissack (Winedoctor): "One of the domaine’s two top cuvées, from a lieu-dit located on the edge of the plateau not far from the Clos du Chêne Vert. Aged in a mix of barrels then cuve, essentially twelve months in each, this was in bottle by the time of my tasting, and had been since August 2020. The nose is nothing short of unique;it starts with rose petals, following up with an explosive layer of black olive and currants, before sidling into a more aromatic phase again, with scents of thyme and warm garrigue. And the palate is no less incredible than the aromatics, being silky yet substantial, polished and pure, with great structure and poise. An energetic wine, with dark fruits, peony, currant, violets and olive, before a long and energetic finish. And it has great acidity and minerality too, despite the warmth of the vintage. A stunner, and surely the best Le Clos Guillot ever. The alcohol is declared quite precisely on the label as 14.3%, a little lower than the projected 14.7% I heard last year. (Oct 2020)"

97 points Rebecca Gibb, MW (Vinous): "The 2018 Chinon Clos Guillot is a rich, focused powerhouse that's firm and direct, with dark blackberries and smoky notes. If we lived in an ideal world, this would be aged before releasing, as it's ripe yet tight and tannic, with the limestone soils providing grip along the sides of the mouth and a sense of direction. Lengthy, serious and complex, leaving the mouth full of dark berry fruit, spice and tea leaves. A baby. Drink: 2024-2040. (Oct 2021)"

95 points Le Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France 2021 (La Revue du Vin de France): "Then comes a sublime Clos Guillot, whose florality and ripe raspberry note give us an intoxicating thrill. The silky material, of a vibrant richness this year, is carried by a lifting limestone sensation. Don't be in a hurry [to drink]. Time will sublimate it."

94 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2018 Clos Guillot from the Baudry family is a beautifully deep, pure and sappy wine, coming in at 14.3 percent octane in this warm summer and offering up bottomless depth in its bouquet of black cherries, black raspberries, Cuban cigar wrapper, a beautiful base of soil tones, hints of tree bark and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a great core of black fruit, superb soil signature and grip, ripe, buried tannins and a very long, superb balanced finish. This is a classic example of the 2018 vintage in Chinon, with plenty of ripeness, but absolutely no signs of sur maturité and great precision and soil signature. It is a young wine and will need bottle age to properly blossom, but it will be stellar once it is ready to drink. 2028-2065. (May/Jun 2021)"

93+ points Stephan Reinhardt (Wine Advocate): "The 2018 Chinon Le Clos Guillot is another impressive Cabernet Franc from Bernard Baudry. The bouquet reveals a perfectly ripe, refined and elegant yet also intense dark fruit aroma reminiscent of blackberries and cherries intermixed with leather and some distinctive flinty aromas. Quite open from this bottle but highly attractive. Silky, round and with remarkable finesse and tension, this is a full-bodied, concentrated and quite tannic Chinon with a still astringent finish but with enough sweetness and intensity for good aging potential. The aftertaste is long and compact and once more represents the concentrated character of the berries when harvested. An impressive wine whose future is even more great than its current status. Tasted in June 2021. Drink: 2025-2045. (Aug 2021)"