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Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume 2007

During my recent trip to Wine Paris 2022 I focused on the Loire Valley rather than Bordeaux, where I already have plenty of reports, articles and profiles in the pipeline (not to mention my ongoing series of updates on 2019 Bordeaux, retasted at two years). It was a fabulous opportunity to catch up with some familiar names, some of whom I have not seen for a couple of years because of you-know-what, to taste their most recent vintages for the first time, and start to think about putting together a Loire 2021 vintage report. I also met some less familiar names in Vouvray, as I seek to gain a greater understanding of this most famous of Ligérian appellations. And I met some young up-and-coming vignerons who are doing great things in Anjou, which at the moment is perhaps the most exciting and dynamic of all the Loire Valley’s regions.

One appellation which continues to evolve at a dramatic pace is Quarts de Chaume. There are just 40 hectares of this appellation – to put that in context, it is just half the size of Château Pontet Canet – and it is divided between a handful of big players, and a gaggle of other vignerons who own or rent much smaller parcels, often little more than a few rows of vines. One of those big players was the Laffourcade family, but they left the scene in 2018 when they sold up; the buyer was Ivan Massonnat of Domaine Belargus, who purchased the 10 hectares of Château de L’Écharderie, one-quarter of the appellation changing hands in a single deal.

Another significant new figure in the appellation is Kathleen Mareels-Van den Berghe, who bought Château de Suronde (once also a Laffourcade property) from Francis Poirel in 2017, followed by the purchase of the cellars of Château de Belle-Rive from Alain Château in 2018 (he sold the vineyards to Loire Propriétés, breaking up this historic estate in the process).

Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume 2007

At Wine Paris I learnt of another new name in the appellation, one which currently flies under the radar but which is surely set to become better known. That name is Vanessa Cherruau, a young vigneron (vigneronne if you prefer) who I first became aware of during her time working at the ill-fated Château de la Genaiserie (the property, poorly run by Vanessa’s employer, subsequently went bankrupt). Now, with the help of a financial backer she has acquired Château de Plaisance, yet another of the Chaume and Quarts de Chaume old guard; the château is situated in the Chaume appellation, just above Zersilles, one of the major lieux-dits of the Quarts de Chaume vineyards.

Of note, right next-door to Vanessa is Cédric Boulez of Clos Galerne. Another recent arrival in the region, I first met Cédric a year or two ago. He started out using cellars in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay, but he has now relocated to a somewhat more prestigious spot. I like Cédric’s wines, just as I liked Vanessa’s wines at Wine Paris; I sense a day of visits on the Chaume and Quarts de Chaume vineyards, with subsequent profiles and updates, in my near future.

One more domaine I would like to get an update on is Domaine des Baumard (but sadly I did not see Florent at Wine Paris, despite him suggesting he might take a stand when I bumped into him there back in early 2020). With the new Quarts de Chaume regulations now firmly bedded in, it is inevitable that there will be changes in the way Florent Baumard works both in the vineyards, and in the cellars. A little bird even whispered to me that the Baumard family plan to certify as organic, although without visiting the domaine and checking for myself I can’t verify this. In the meantime, as I work my way through every bottle of Quarts de Chaume in my cellar (expect a large multi-vintage report soon) my hand recently fell onto a bottle of the 2007 Quarts de Chaume from Domaine de Baumard. After cracking the screwcap (a closure favoured by Florent for close to twenty years now), the wine when it hit the glass displayed a honeyed golden hue, fresh and shimmering, without the huge botrytis-driven pigment this vintage tends to show. Aromatically it is loaded with toasted mirabelle and honeysuckle, with a white pepper freshness and the sweet scents of baklava. The palate lives up to expectations, showing a supple, smoky and polished style, laid upon a finely grained mineral and acid backbone, the entirety a super contrast between seamless texture and vibrant acid structure. This is a strong showing from this cuvée, viscous yet defined, with a long finish cut with acid and infused with crushed chalk. As I have noted in previous vintages, the style remains more crystalline – more like passerillage than botrytis despite 2007 being a vintage strong on noble rot – and I wonder how much of that is down to the cryo-extraction (or cryo-selection, as Florent always called it) the Baumard family have long favoured (and which in current times is ruled impermissible by appellation regulations). Supremely long and energetic, this has some fine qualities, a crowd-pleaser which is distinctively Baumard in style. 94/100 (28/2/22)

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