Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru / 2018 / 500mL

Description:

The Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru 2018 is a sweet Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley, made in a bright, precise style rather than a heavy one. Baumard picks by hand across several passes and uses only a portion of botrytis-affected fruit, so the wine keeps its citrus clarity alongside the sweetness.

Quince, dried apricot and candied lemon peel lead the aromatics, with beeswax, chamomile and a faint smoky note underneath. The palate carries mandarin, poached pear and honeyed stone fruit, all of it lifted rather than syrupy.

Acidity is the making of this wine. Chenin Blanc from Quarts de Chaume holds a firm line of lemon-rind freshness through the middle, which keeps the sugar buoyant and leaves the finish long, saline and cleaner than you would expect from a wine this rich. Texture is silky without weight.

Serve it well chilled with a washed-rind or blue cheese, tarte Tatin, or roast duck with fruit. It also works beautifully on its own after dinner, and the 500mL bottle is the right size for two or three people finishing a meal without committing to a full bottle of dessert wine.

Drinking well now and through the next fifteen years, though half bottles mature faster than 750mL, so this Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru 2018 will reach its plateau sooner in this format.