The 2010 Quarts de Chaume from Domaine des Baumard is truly a stunning wine hamstrung by its closure, with some signs of reduction already evident on both the nose and palate. The bouquet has just a weird touch of...
The 2010 Quarts de Chaume from Domaine des Baumard is truly a stunning wine hamstrung by its closure, with some signs of reduction already evident on both the nose and palate. The bouquet has just a weird touch of vegetality from the closure in its otherwise utterly classic aromatic mélange of peach, pineapple, honeycomb, chalky soil tones, a bit of lanolin and the closure topnote of cooked asparagus. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a great core of fruit, very clean botrytis, crisp acids and outstanding length and grip on the slightly edgy, metallic finish (again from the screwcap). This is a 97 point dessert wine from chenin blanc- with a 50 point closure. Today, the wine is still plenty enjoyable to drink with an extended decanting, but the reduction is going to lock in and kill this wine in the next several years and what a waste it will be when that happens. But, for now, the screwcap only takes a handful of points away and the wine is still quite tasty to drink, but it should have been a legend for the next thirty or forty years! This is the finest vintage of Quarts de Chaume from Domaine des Baumard since the brilliant 1989, and perhaps the worst closure decision in recent history. (Drink between 2015-2025)