Anjou blanc Le Cornillard 2020 Domaine Patrick Baudoin

The Anjou Blanc Le Cornillard 2020 from Domaine Patrick Baudouin is a powerful and distinguished cuvée, emblematic of the potential of dry Chenins on schist. A haute couture Chenin that unfolds subtly in the glass. At a time when dry Anjou blanc still seeks international recognition, Patrick Baudouin has proven for over twenty years that Chenin on the schists of the Layon can attain a depth, tension and complexity that rivals the great dry whites of France. A Loire wine built for cellaring, from a plot of less than one hectare worked on horseback for decades.

Terroir and the vines

Le Cornillard comes from a schistous hillside that slopes towards the Layon, facing due south. A plot that demonstrates the potential of the Layon's 'great dry whites'. On a 0.8 hectare parcel on a southeast-facing slope descending to the Layon, the vintner tends his old Chenin vines following organic principles and with the help of a horse. The vines are between 50 and 70 years old and cover less than one hectare. These old vines, whose roots reach deep into the Armorican schists, naturally produce very low yields that concentrate the aromatic expression and richness of Chenin with an intensity and precision that makes this lieu-dit a confidential reference in the Anjou appellation. Vinification is based on slow fermentations in Burgundy barrels of 3 and 4 wines. Full alcoholic and malolactic fermentations. Ageing in Burgundy barrels on fine lees from harvest in October until two months before bottling, then ageing in tank. Vinification is natural and spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, without added sulphur.

Tasting profile

The colour is pale golden yellow, limpid and brilliant, with light golden highlights, announcing a certain maturity and richness while retaining lovely visual freshness. At first, pleasant pastry tertiary notes of frangipane and brioche. Very quickly, the varietal and mineral dominate the glass, quince, camphor, mirabelle and acacia honey. On the nose, aromas of white flowers and yellow-fleshed fruit mingle with mineral and citrus notes. The nose presents yellow fruit notes, the palate is both powerful and lively, with substantial material, the warmth of the vintage refreshed on the finish by nice bitters. The stony and arid character of the plot comes through in a persistent and structured mineral frame, which conjugates with the aromatic complexity of ripe fruit. On the palate, dense material moves through very 'pear'-like melted grain and immense persistence. The long, mineral finish brings considerable relief to the whole. This is a dry white at once powerful and refined, built to age for up to 15 years.

The domaine

Created in 1920 by Louis and Maria Juby, the great-grandparents of the current owner, Domaine Patrick Baudouin has 13 hectares of vines cultivated on old Armorican volcanic rock, schist and sandstone, tended by certified organic viticulture. The domaine favours work with horse and encourages the life of trees and soils. In the cellar, wine is conceived as a 'cultural creation'. The goal is to let the terroir speak so the wine lover can distinguish the birthplace, be moved by the ageing potential and be delighted at table. First a large producer of sweet wines, Patrick Baudouin has reoriented part of his production towards great dry whites since 2001. His Anjou blancs like Le Cornillard are unanimously recognised as among the greatest dry Chenins of the Loire.

Food pairings

A monkfish tail and its saffron autumn broth is the ideal pairing suggested by the domaine itself. This Cornillard will also pair beautifully with scallops in chive cream, veal roulade with wild mushrooms, creamed poultry with porcini, roasted turbot with beurre blanc or risotto with white truffles. Served between 11 and 13°C, it will reveal all the power, mineral tension and complexity of a great dry Loire Chenin.