The Loire's great red wine appellation. Cabernet Franc on tuffeau (elegant, floral), gravel-sand (lighter), and clay-gravel (structured). Philippe Alliet's Vieilles Vignes is the benchmark — earthy, pencil-graphite, serious Loire Franc. Serve at 14–15°C; decant at 45 minutes for structured cuvées.
| Year | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 87 | Good warm vintage. Richer, riper Chinon. Black cherry and cedar character well expressed. |
| 2021 | — | Classic Loire vintage; cool conditions produced Cabernet Franc of excellent freshness and the characteristic violet-pencil shavings complexity of great Chinon. |
| 2020 | — | Benchmark year; Baudry and Alliet both produced wines of extraordinary depth from the tuffeau hillside parcels; ageability confirmed. |
| 2019 | 89 | Excellent Chinon. Cabernet Franc from tufa soils at great precision. Olga Raffault and Bernard Baudry standout. |
| 2018 | — | Warm vintage producing generous, accessible Chinon of good concentration; gravel soils particularly successful; some tuffeau wines overripe but finest elegant. |