Clos des Baies St. Emilion Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Clos des Baies St. Emilion with wine tasting notes, wine, and food pairing tips, best vintages, a history of the property, and information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Clos des Baies History, Overview

Clos des Baies is quite a recent development in Saint Emilion. The winery was founded in 2006, when Philippe Baillarguet, the cellar master for all the Vauthier family-owned wines including Chateau Ausone, Chateau Moulin Saint Georges, Chateau Fonbel, and Simard.

It took Philippe Baillarguet 10 years of hard work, from the time he began working for Alain Vauthier at Chateau Ausone in 1996 before he was finally ready and able to purchase his own vineyard.

Clos des Baies Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The small, Right Bank vineyard of Clos des Baies is planted to 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. The entire vineyard occupies just over one-half of a hectare of vines. The vineyard is well placed with good neighbors as their best parcels are close to Chateau Pavie.

The vineyard, which is divided into 2 parcels as a terroir that is a blend of limestone, clay, sand, and chalk soils. Clos des Baies has old vines, which are on average, close to 45 years of age. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 6,666 vines per hectare. All vineyard farming at Clos des Baies is completely 100% organic, but they prefer to remain not certified.

Vinification of Clos des Baies takes place in stainless steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels. The wine is then aged in 70% new French oak barrels for 16 to 18 months before bottling.

The best vintages of Clos des Baies are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, and 2009.

The production of Clos des Baies is quite small, as there are only 125 cases or so produced each vintage. For proof of a commitment to making the highest quality wine, even though their production is obviously quite small, there is a second wine, Face Baies du Clos des Baies.

Philippe Baillargue also owns vines in Pomerol, where he produces about 75 cases from the diminutive Clos Payrol each year.

When to Drink Clos des Baies Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Clos des Baies needs 2-3 years in the cellar before starting to show its best. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage. Clos des Baies is best enjoyed in the first 3-12 years of life.

Young vintages can be decanted for about 1 hour or so. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Serving Clos des Baies with Wine and Food Pairings

Clos des Baies is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Clos des Baies is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Clos des Baies is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.