2015 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume

2015 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume

2015 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume, Chenin Blanc from Loire, France

98pts Wine Spectator #52 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2018

Waves of creamed Jonagold apple, Cavaillon melon, mirabelle plum, mango and white peach flavors provide thrilling range, while flashes of honeysuckle and verbena add detail and focus throughout. Unctuous yet pure, sweet yet invigorating, with an inner brightness that matches the outward hedonism. Best from 2020 through 2045. Wine Spectator

The sweet wines of Domaine des Baumard are from vineyards planted along the Layon river, which flows northwest into the Loire. The magnificent Quarts de Chaume is a fascinating wine, with a compelling intensity and authority of site which informs each vintage. Always long-lived, in great vintages this wine can be almost immortal, improving for decades.

Chenin Blanc is a versatile white-wine grape variety that has been cultivated in France for nearly 1300 years. It is most commonly associated with France’s Loire Valley, and its high acidity levels mean it can be vinified in a number of different styles: as lusciously sweet, botrytis-affected dessert wines, light, honeyed sparkling wines and as full-bodied, still white wines.

The Baumard family has been wine growing wine at Rochefort in the Anjou for centuries, working with the noble Chenin in what has long been accepted as its natural home, the slate-covered hillside vineyards along the Loire and Layton rivers. In 1953, the Baumard family acquired a vineyard in the Quarts de Chaume, and in 1968, purchased substantial acreage in Savennieres. Jean Baumard, an enologist and educator, as well as grower, introduced significant innovations to the winemaking region, bringing the dry wines of Savennieres, as well as his sweet wines, Quarts de Chaumes and Coteaux du Layon back to prominence. Now in retirement, further innovation has been carried on by Jean’s son, Florent.