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information: producers: Loire Index: Domaine des Baumard

Domaine des Baumard

If you've ever tasted the often nasty, dilute jug wines labelled "Chenin Blanc" from the likes of South Africa and California, you'll not believe that the wines produced at Dornaine des Baumard are made from the same grape.

The estate was founded by Jean Baumard, whose winemaking traditions can be traced back almost 400 years. On his retirement in 1993, he left the estate in the fine hands of his son, Elorent.

The two most important wines produced here are the flinty, lemon-tinged Savennieres and the sublimely rich Quarts-de- Chaurne both made entirely from the Chenin grape. These have been little known wines until quite recently but are now, in their tiny quantities, firmly on the world stage amongst the cognoscenti.

Savennieres can be a difficult wine to get to grips with in its youth. On release it can be acerbic in its acidity and tough to understand. It is only after a few years that one comes to realise how wonderfully complex the wine actually is - a complexity which can continue to develop for twenty years or more. The distinctive acidity allows the wine to develop its richness and accessibility without losing its sprightly backbone. Layers of honeyed fruit combine with mineral characteristics to produce a wine that demands concentration and yet gives immense drinking pleasure at the same time.

The vineyards of Quarts- de-Chaume run down the south-facing hills from the village of Chaume to a wooded gorge and the Layon River below. The small valley is protected from winds and, as the grapes mature during October, a heavy mist hangs in the air. Warm sun burns the moisture off and the grapes dry out and shrink. As in the best vineyards of Sauternes these conditions allow the grapes to attain "noble rot", a magical fungus that shrivels the grapes and gives them splendidly high levels of both sugar and acidity. As the grapes tend to ripen with the rot over different periods, the pickers may have to make as many as five separate tours around the vineyards selecting individual grapes by hand.

Florent is very single-minded in his winemaking practices much to the chagrin of many fellow vignerons. A glance at his Coteaux-du-Layon plot will show wide rows between vines to allow maximum exposure to the sun. Grass is grown between the lines of vines but ploughed up and re-seeded every 3 years to create a cycle of fertilisation and cultivation. The vines themselves look rather unwieldy but are grown high, with more leaves, to aid photo-synthesis.

Hand-picking continues with a firm refusal to use tractors, which would damage the soil make-up. Tradition and bio-dynamic practices work side-by-side with some modern technology, however. Pneumatic presses allow precise pressure to be placed on the grapes-stainless steel tanks sharpen the taste of the Savennieres - temperature controls arc present at virtually every step of the winemaking process. It is extraordinary that two such diverse wines can be made from one grape and one vigneron. There is no doubt that the intense care and devotion given to these wines at Domaine des Baumard is second-to-none.

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