2017 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume

Domaine des Baumard’s 2017 Quarts de Chaume is a benchmark sweet Loire white, crafted from Chenin Blanc grown on one of France’s most prized dessert-wine terroirs. This cuvée marries lavish sweetness with striking freshness, delivering a wine that is as complex and precise as it is hedonistic. Quarts de Chaume is the Loire’s first Grand Cru for sweet wines, and Baumard is widely regarded as one of the appellation’s leading interpreters of this singular site.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, the 2017 Quarts de Chaume is a clear, deep golden yellow with shimmering green highlights that hint at its youth and vitality. The nose is rich and layered, offering waves of acacia honey, ripe pear, apricot, quince, almond and white flowers, wrapped around a cool, stony minerality. Subtle notes of citrus zest and spice emerge with air, adding lift and detail. On the palate, the wine is opulent yet finely balanced, with intense sweetness supported by a vivid, mouthwatering acidity. The texture is full and almost glycerolic, but never heavy: expect flavors of baked pear, apricot compote, citrus peel, blossom honey and a whole orchard of stone and pip fruits, underpinned by a saline, slate-driven minerality. The finish is long, clean and elegant, leaving a lingering impression of fruit, flowers and citrus. Thanks to its high acidity and concentration, this Quarts de Chaume has excellent aging potential; properly cellared, it will evolve beautifully for 20+ years, gaining more complexity in notes of dried fruit, caramel, spice and truffle.

Production
The fruit for this classical cuvée comes from older Chenin Blanc vines rooted in the unique terroir of Quarts de Chaume, where grey schist layers, quartz and other fractured, weathered rock give both power and minerality. The vineyards are situated on slopes above a tributary of the Loire, where autumn brings cool water temperatures and morning mists that encourage the development of noble rot (Botrytis cinerea). Harvest is entirely by hand, carried out in multiple meticulous passes through the vineyard, with only overripe, shriveled and botrytised berries selected. Yields are extremely low, around 22–25 hl/ha, ensuring great concentration. After gentle pneumatic pressing, fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks to preserve purity, aromatic intensity and precision, rather than masking the fruit and terroir with oak.

Food & Serving
This Quarts de Chaume is a natural partner for rich foie gras, blue cheeses such as Roquefort or Stilton, and refined desserts based on stone fruits, poached pears, almond, honey or citrus. It also shines with spicy or slightly sweet Asian dishes, or simply served on its own as a contemplative finale to a meal. Serve lightly chilled, around 10–12°C (50–54°F), to balance freshness and aromatic expression. Young bottles can benefit from being opened 30 minutes in advance, and a gentle, short decant in a small carafe can help the wine unfurl its full aromatic complexity.

Producer
Domaine des Baumard is based in Rochefort-sur-Loire, in the heart of the Loire Valley, about 20 km southeast of Angers, on a former noble 17th‑century estate called Logis de la Giraudière. Wine has been made here since 1634, and after the devastation of phylloxera the property even served as a nursery for grafted vines on American rootstocks. In 1955, Jean Baumard revived wine production and expanded the estate’s holdings across Anjou and on the north bank of the Loire, notably in Quarts de Chaume and Savennières. Since 1987, his son Florent Baumard has pursued a meticulous, terroir‑driven approach, uniting deep technical know‑how with some of the region’s finest sites. Today, Domaine des Baumard is regarded as one of the reference producers in Anjou, renowned for crystalline, long‑lived Chenin Blanc wines that capture the distinctive character of their schist- and quartz-rich soils.

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