Wine Advisor
Baumard, Quarts De Chaume 2004
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: David Schildknecht
The Baumard 2004 Quarts de Chaume reflects painstaking, multiple pickings of perfectly botrytized fruit, with plenty of gold-green grapes to insure juiciness, vivacity and flux. An intense and complex aromatic mingling of candied grapefruit and pineapple, quince jelly, pear drops, white raisin, musk and truffle leads to a palate of intense richness yet buoyant elegance and transparency to mineral, floral and spice nuances. The superb finish manages to be refreshingly, invigoratingly juicy and salty while at the same time possessing honeyed richness and implosive concentration of candied citrus and overripe orchard fruits. (Furthermore – in this case I can’t help but write it explicitly – this represents astonishingly good value for a wine of its quality and sort.) While already irresistible, this has at least a good quarter century in it. Importer: Ex Cellars wine Agencies, Cambridge, MA; tel. (617) 876-5105
About the Producer
Domaine des Baumard, led by Florent Baumard, is one of the Loire Valley’s esteemed producers. Their Savennières wines, particularly from the renowned vineyards of Clos St Yves and Clos du Papillon, are rich yet elegantly balanced. The top cuvée, Trie Speciale, is crafted only in exceptional vintages, revealing paradoxical qualities—honeyed yet dry, rounded yet firm. Baumard’s viticulture stands out with wide vine spacing (3 meters between rows) and high trellising (over 2 meters). Fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled steel, emphasizing precise fruit expression. Whether dry or sweet, Baumard’s Chenin Blanc wines reflect the unique character of their vintage and terroir.
