Domaine des Baumard - Quarts de Chaume 2018 (500ml)
Price: $58.99
| Producer | Domaine des Baumard |
| Country | France |
| Region | Loire Valley |
| Varietal | Chenin Blanc |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Sku | 207347 |
| Size | 500ml |
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Domaine des Baumard Description
Domaine des Baumard’s masterful wines span a range that is highly unusual in France. More specifically, Baumard is recognized for producing some of the most extraordinary dry white wines in the Loire and in France, namely endlessly nuanced Chenin Blanc from Savennieres. And Baumard is the single most famous producer of Quarts de Chaume, the greatest appellation for sweet wines in the Loire Valley and an appellation that has been recognized for its special quality over 1,000 years. The wines, especially today, are a study in purity and nuance. No oak is used in their vinification or aging, and gentle, precise care is the guiding philosophy in the vineyard and the winery. If you take the time to pay attention, you will be left speechless.
Domaine des Baumard’s Quarts de Chaume is renowned the world over as the greatest example of this small, 110 acre vineyard (of which Baumard owns 15), since 2011 recognized as the first official “Grand Cru” of the Loire Valley. The sweet wines from this subregion of the Côteaux de Layon are from vineyards planted along the southeastern stretch of the Layon river. The perfectly exposed, steeply terraced vineyards allow the Chenin Blanc grape to ripen perfectly in most years, often enriched by the development of botryitis. Always long-lived, in great vintages Quarts de Chaume can be almost immortal, improving for decades.
Tasting Note: Aromas are intensely floral, with ripe citrus, pear and other orchard fruits mingling with minerality. On the palate these same notes come through in an opulent, irresistable density that nevertheless finishes lifted and fresh.
Wine Pairing: Recommended to serve Quarts de Chaume as an apertif with foie gras, rillette canapes or chicken liver, blue cheeses such as Roquefort and Gorgonzola, and ‘white desserts,’ such as poached pears or peaches with creme anglaise.
Vinous: 89 Points
A sweet but not overly sweet 2018 Quarts de Chaume. If you want an unctuous style, this is not it. It's a fresher, atypical expression that provides a delicately sweet coating but is more German-tasting than Sauternes with its lightness and freshness. Toffee apple and light nutty influence. Only a small percentage of botrytis. Slightly lacking in complexity and yet quite a lot of joy to drink.
Residual sugar is 122g/L, but you would never guess.
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