Originally posted 11/28/01
How does one get me to travel? Offer to open up a lot of great sweet wine! Thats precisely what Cole Kendall did this past June when he hosted a truly stunning Baumard-a-thon. After reading the litany of wines that were to be opened, suddenly Washington DC didnt seem like too much of a schlep.
While Im awful with remembering spouse/significant other names, (those that were there, please feel free to fill in the blanks) I can tell you that in attendance was the wonderful host, Cole, Callahan, who was apparently taking an afternoon and evening off from his duties in Hades, Maureen Big Mo Nelson, Bob Semon, whos name I seem to recall seeing on the internet years ago and Kate Whitmore, who used to be the German wine goddess at alt.food.wine, which was the first wine-related place I hung out on when I jointed the internet community some 5 1/2 years ago.
What a wonderful tasting this was and my apologies for being so tardy in getting the notes posted. What struck me most about this tasting was just how consistent Baumard is. In excellent vintages, they shine. In difficult vintages they still offer up a lot of interesting things and succeed where others fail.
Its sometimes said that these wines dont often show a sense of place. After this tasting and with my past experiences with Baumard, I have to admit there may be some merit to that. Im hard-pressed to find a terroir induced characteristic that clearly screams this is a Baumard! However, whats wrong with greatness and consistency being your identifiable trait whilst still staying true to the characteristics of a Quarts de Chaume?
Brad
Dry Wines
1990 Baumard- Savennires
Yellow color. Light gun smoke funk on the nose that blew off to reveal quinine, mineral, lemon and light butterscotch aromas. Expansive and a touch fat on the palate. Dry with nice pithy bitterness and white grapefruit, quinine and mineral flavors. Rounds out nicely on the finish. A-/B+.
1990 Baumard- Savennires, Trie Spciale
Showed great lushness on the nose when first closed, but it closed up aromatically very quickly. On the palate, much more lush and richer than the regular 90 bottling, but with a similar flavor profile and with a touch of pleasant spice and bitterness on the finish. A-.
1995 Baumard- Savennires, Clos Papillon
Pale and bright in the glass. Nice aromas of bees wax, mineral, pear and apple. Showing more open on the palate than six months prior. Mouth-filling, focused and with good acidity. Dry with plenty of pear and mineral flavors and a touch of bees wax. A-.
1996 Baumard- Savennires, Clos Papillon
Damn! A cooked bottle. A shame, too, since this is one of my favorite Savennires.
1997 Baumard- Savennires, Clos Papillon
Bright, clear color. Really well-focused on the nose with mineral, lemon and grapefruit pith aromas. Opulent on the palate with a touch of alcohol showing due to the extreme ripeness of the vintage, though I have to confess its come together very nicely since release, when I found it way too disjointed and wondered if it would come together well. Quite dry with mineral and grapefruit pith flavors dominating and with faint, dry honey rounding out the finish. A-.
And now for something completely different.
1985 Cos DEstournal- St. Estephe, Bordeaux (from Magnum)
Ruby colored with a nose of wet earth, sweet black currants, light herb and anise. There was some discussion amongst the group of whether the wine was showing young, or old. I found the wine softened and drinking very well now. Theres nice currant, earth and herb flavors and with air it took on some nice cedar notes, but the wine really doesnt set off any fireworks. A-/B+.
Sweet Wines
1962 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Gold colored. Shows lots much more botrytis on the nose than most of the other wines. The nose is a real tour de force with botrytis, bees wax, marzipan, apricot and Earl Gray tea aromas. On the palate, the wine is just as intriguing as on the nose. Complex and balanced nicely by vibrant acidity, theres plenty of botrytis/honey here with some bitter orange marmalade, tea, apricots and marzipan. Drinks well now and is starting to show its age a little. A/A-.
1967 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Opens with a big whiff of Gorgonzola cheese, though not in an unpleasant way. Ive occasionally gotten cheese-like aromas from older Chenin Blanc. It blows off a bit and also offers up mineral aromas. Acidity is quite perky in this example with light honey, mineral, sweet lemons and a touch of shoe polish on the palate. Lingering honeyed lemon drop finish. Best showing of four bottles Ive tried. A-.
1969 Baumard- Coteaux du Layon, Clos de Sainte Catherine
Kate calls the color of this wine camel piss. Not remembering what camel piss looked like in Israel, or at the Bronx Zoo, Id call it a rich yellow color, though looking on the youthful side for its age. Pretty tight on the nose with only light honey aromas showing. Mostly youth showing on the palate with plenty of peppy acidity, though the wine is taking on mature notes. Theres that older sweetness along with nice chalkiness, honey and bergaments. Sweet lemons on the finish. While generally enjoyable, the wine does have a bit of a hole in the mid-palate. A-/B+.
1969 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
From a suspect bottle with a low fill and a cork that dropped into the bottle. A deep yellow/pale gold color. Quite mushroomy on the nose with honey, mineral and light tea aromas. Sweeter than the 69 Clos de Sainte Catherine, but showing an older profile with much softer acidity. Fairly advanced with enjoyable honey, tea and marmalade flavors. Id certainly like to try a more pristine example as this one was quite nice. Low A-.
1970 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Deep yellow color. Shows a mixture of youth and age on the nose. Showed youth in that the acidity was apparent by smelling, but the aromas showed more of a typical aged Chenin profile. Honey, baked apple, quince jam, light shoe polish and tea aromas. Nicely rich on the palate with like flavors as aromas and with the acidity really perking things up. A-.
1971 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Deep yellow in color and showing a bit younger than anticipated on the nose. Hay-like honey, faint tea, tropical fruit compote with a tiny dollop of butterscotch make for a beguiling and delightful nose. Rich and sweet and seemingly at the crossroads of youth and maturity. It shows youthful vibrancy on the palate, but is developing some aged complexity. Theres nice pineapple, quince and mineral flavors with Earl Gray tea sneaking in there. No holes in this wine. Delicious! Solid A.
1976 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume, La Premire Slection de Grains Nobles
For once I got to feel like Callahan the curmudgeon as Ive had a better example of this wine. A deeper yellow color than the 71 and showing less than that wine, but with more acidity. Honey, mineral and grilled pineapple flavors dominate. Still excellent, though not the best bottle. A-.
1986 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
We have the Brothers Johnson singing Get the Funk Out Ma Face here. Lots of earth funk on the nose. Sharply acidic on the palate with mushroom, earth and light honey flavors. Not as sweet, complex or rich as all the others and fairly short on the palate to boot. I havent really enjoyed the Huets from 86, either. Low B.
1988 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Similar to the 86 in that theres plenty of funk on the nose, but the wine is richer and shows a little more sweetness and botrytis. Pleasant honey, apricot and quince flavors. A very good wine in a difficult year. B+.
1989 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Youthful, and typically Chenin aromas of botrytis, apricot, pineapple and mineral. Rich and unctuous on the palate with terrific acidity. Lots of tropical fruit, apricot, botrytis and honey. Perfect balance and desperately needing age. This wine often takes some knocks by folks when being compared to the ultra-rich 90. I love em both for their respective styles. While certainly more reserved than the 90, I find this wine more focused and harmonious. A.
1990 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Yellow color. Much more opulent on the nose and palate than the 89. Ultra rich and pumped up in the Hans and Franz sense with decadent botrytis, pineapple, thick honey and tropical fruit flavors and aromas. This is just simply monstrous on the palate. Though not as well balanced by acidity as the 89, theres more than enough here to prevent it from being cloying and more age will bear that out as some of the fruit and sweetness fades. Delicious. Solid A.
1995 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Consistently my favorite Baumard QDC of all time, this bottle is a great example why. Theres gorgeous botrytis, rich tropical fruit, honeysuckle and mineral in spades. Yet the balance of this wine is what sets it apart from all the rest. The acidity perfectly balances the intense sweetness and combines with all the flavor elements, each in the proper proportion, to give this wine a certain classiness that sets it apart from the rest. A+.
1996 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Shows more of an apricot profile on the nose and palate than the 95 and lacks the botrytis of the 95, but is also richly endowed. Decadent apricot, tropical fruit and mineral flavors. Has terrific acidity, great focus and is a stunning wine in its own right. Solid A.
1997 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Very thick and rich and loaded with botrytis. More blowsy than either the 95, or 96 with honey, pineapple and mineral flavors dominating. While the acidity is more prevalent than it was on release, the wine still tends to be relatively on the fat side. Still, this is nice, thick n sweet stuff. A/A-.
1998 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Pale in color which stood in stark contrast to the previous wines. Nose of mineral, passion fruit, flowers and peas. Light on the palate and showing more floral and mineral notes than many of the wines today, along with light honey, passion fruit and pineapple. Good acidity that seems stronger due to the lighter style of the wine. Not a great Baumard, but one that has plenty of interesting things going on in it. Ive had bottles that have shown the same and a little better than this one. A-/B+.
While the 99 Wasnt tasted at this tasting, Ill include the note I recently wrote on it just for additional perspective.
1999 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Fairly light on the nose, but there are some nice pear, stone and honey aromas. More viscous on the palate than the 98 and showing more ripeness, though less acidity. While the wine is a tad fat, the pear, pineapple, honey and mineral flavors are enjoyable and generous and there is enough acidity present to prevent the wine from being cloying. A-.
How does one get me to travel? Offer to open up a lot of great sweet wine! Thats precisely what Cole Kendall did this past June when he hosted a truly stunning Baumard-a-thon. After reading the litany of wines that were to be opened, suddenly Washington DC didnt seem like too much of a schlep.
While Im awful with remembering spouse/significant other names, (those that were there, please feel free to fill in the blanks) I can tell you that in attendance was the wonderful host, Cole, Callahan, who was apparently taking an afternoon and evening off from his duties in Hades, Maureen Big Mo Nelson, Bob Semon, whos name I seem to recall seeing on the internet years ago and Kate Whitmore, who used to be the German wine goddess at alt.food.wine, which was the first wine-related place I hung out on when I jointed the internet community some 5 1/2 years ago.
What a wonderful tasting this was and my apologies for being so tardy in getting the notes posted. What struck me most about this tasting was just how consistent Baumard is. In excellent vintages, they shine. In difficult vintages they still offer up a lot of interesting things and succeed where others fail.
Its sometimes said that these wines dont often show a sense of place. After this tasting and with my past experiences with Baumard, I have to admit there may be some merit to that. Im hard-pressed to find a terroir induced characteristic that clearly screams this is a Baumard! However, whats wrong with greatness and consistency being your identifiable trait whilst still staying true to the characteristics of a Quarts de Chaume?
Brad
Dry Wines
1990 Baumard- Savennires
Yellow color. Light gun smoke funk on the nose that blew off to reveal quinine, mineral, lemon and light butterscotch aromas. Expansive and a touch fat on the palate. Dry with nice pithy bitterness and white grapefruit, quinine and mineral flavors. Rounds out nicely on the finish. A-/B+.
1990 Baumard- Savennires, Trie Spciale
Showed great lushness on the nose when first closed, but it closed up aromatically very quickly. On the palate, much more lush and richer than the regular 90 bottling, but with a similar flavor profile and with a touch of pleasant spice and bitterness on the finish. A-.
1995 Baumard- Savennires, Clos Papillon
Pale and bright in the glass. Nice aromas of bees wax, mineral, pear and apple. Showing more open on the palate than six months prior. Mouth-filling, focused and with good acidity. Dry with plenty of pear and mineral flavors and a touch of bees wax. A-.
1996 Baumard- Savennires, Clos Papillon
Damn! A cooked bottle. A shame, too, since this is one of my favorite Savennires.
1997 Baumard- Savennires, Clos Papillon
Bright, clear color. Really well-focused on the nose with mineral, lemon and grapefruit pith aromas. Opulent on the palate with a touch of alcohol showing due to the extreme ripeness of the vintage, though I have to confess its come together very nicely since release, when I found it way too disjointed and wondered if it would come together well. Quite dry with mineral and grapefruit pith flavors dominating and with faint, dry honey rounding out the finish. A-.
And now for something completely different.
1985 Cos DEstournal- St. Estephe, Bordeaux (from Magnum)
Ruby colored with a nose of wet earth, sweet black currants, light herb and anise. There was some discussion amongst the group of whether the wine was showing young, or old. I found the wine softened and drinking very well now. Theres nice currant, earth and herb flavors and with air it took on some nice cedar notes, but the wine really doesnt set off any fireworks. A-/B+.
Sweet Wines
1962 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Gold colored. Shows lots much more botrytis on the nose than most of the other wines. The nose is a real tour de force with botrytis, bees wax, marzipan, apricot and Earl Gray tea aromas. On the palate, the wine is just as intriguing as on the nose. Complex and balanced nicely by vibrant acidity, theres plenty of botrytis/honey here with some bitter orange marmalade, tea, apricots and marzipan. Drinks well now and is starting to show its age a little. A/A-.
1967 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Opens with a big whiff of Gorgonzola cheese, though not in an unpleasant way. Ive occasionally gotten cheese-like aromas from older Chenin Blanc. It blows off a bit and also offers up mineral aromas. Acidity is quite perky in this example with light honey, mineral, sweet lemons and a touch of shoe polish on the palate. Lingering honeyed lemon drop finish. Best showing of four bottles Ive tried. A-.
1969 Baumard- Coteaux du Layon, Clos de Sainte Catherine
Kate calls the color of this wine camel piss. Not remembering what camel piss looked like in Israel, or at the Bronx Zoo, Id call it a rich yellow color, though looking on the youthful side for its age. Pretty tight on the nose with only light honey aromas showing. Mostly youth showing on the palate with plenty of peppy acidity, though the wine is taking on mature notes. Theres that older sweetness along with nice chalkiness, honey and bergaments. Sweet lemons on the finish. While generally enjoyable, the wine does have a bit of a hole in the mid-palate. A-/B+.
1969 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
From a suspect bottle with a low fill and a cork that dropped into the bottle. A deep yellow/pale gold color. Quite mushroomy on the nose with honey, mineral and light tea aromas. Sweeter than the 69 Clos de Sainte Catherine, but showing an older profile with much softer acidity. Fairly advanced with enjoyable honey, tea and marmalade flavors. Id certainly like to try a more pristine example as this one was quite nice. Low A-.
1970 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Deep yellow color. Shows a mixture of youth and age on the nose. Showed youth in that the acidity was apparent by smelling, but the aromas showed more of a typical aged Chenin profile. Honey, baked apple, quince jam, light shoe polish and tea aromas. Nicely rich on the palate with like flavors as aromas and with the acidity really perking things up. A-.
1971 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Deep yellow in color and showing a bit younger than anticipated on the nose. Hay-like honey, faint tea, tropical fruit compote with a tiny dollop of butterscotch make for a beguiling and delightful nose. Rich and sweet and seemingly at the crossroads of youth and maturity. It shows youthful vibrancy on the palate, but is developing some aged complexity. Theres nice pineapple, quince and mineral flavors with Earl Gray tea sneaking in there. No holes in this wine. Delicious! Solid A.
1976 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume, La Premire Slection de Grains Nobles
For once I got to feel like Callahan the curmudgeon as Ive had a better example of this wine. A deeper yellow color than the 71 and showing less than that wine, but with more acidity. Honey, mineral and grilled pineapple flavors dominate. Still excellent, though not the best bottle. A-.
1986 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
We have the Brothers Johnson singing Get the Funk Out Ma Face here. Lots of earth funk on the nose. Sharply acidic on the palate with mushroom, earth and light honey flavors. Not as sweet, complex or rich as all the others and fairly short on the palate to boot. I havent really enjoyed the Huets from 86, either. Low B.
1988 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Similar to the 86 in that theres plenty of funk on the nose, but the wine is richer and shows a little more sweetness and botrytis. Pleasant honey, apricot and quince flavors. A very good wine in a difficult year. B+.
1989 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Youthful, and typically Chenin aromas of botrytis, apricot, pineapple and mineral. Rich and unctuous on the palate with terrific acidity. Lots of tropical fruit, apricot, botrytis and honey. Perfect balance and desperately needing age. This wine often takes some knocks by folks when being compared to the ultra-rich 90. I love em both for their respective styles. While certainly more reserved than the 90, I find this wine more focused and harmonious. A.
1990 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Yellow color. Much more opulent on the nose and palate than the 89. Ultra rich and pumped up in the Hans and Franz sense with decadent botrytis, pineapple, thick honey and tropical fruit flavors and aromas. This is just simply monstrous on the palate. Though not as well balanced by acidity as the 89, theres more than enough here to prevent it from being cloying and more age will bear that out as some of the fruit and sweetness fades. Delicious. Solid A.
1995 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Consistently my favorite Baumard QDC of all time, this bottle is a great example why. Theres gorgeous botrytis, rich tropical fruit, honeysuckle and mineral in spades. Yet the balance of this wine is what sets it apart from all the rest. The acidity perfectly balances the intense sweetness and combines with all the flavor elements, each in the proper proportion, to give this wine a certain classiness that sets it apart from the rest. A+.
1996 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Shows more of an apricot profile on the nose and palate than the 95 and lacks the botrytis of the 95, but is also richly endowed. Decadent apricot, tropical fruit and mineral flavors. Has terrific acidity, great focus and is a stunning wine in its own right. Solid A.
1997 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Very thick and rich and loaded with botrytis. More blowsy than either the 95, or 96 with honey, pineapple and mineral flavors dominating. While the acidity is more prevalent than it was on release, the wine still tends to be relatively on the fat side. Still, this is nice, thick n sweet stuff. A/A-.
1998 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Pale in color which stood in stark contrast to the previous wines. Nose of mineral, passion fruit, flowers and peas. Light on the palate and showing more floral and mineral notes than many of the wines today, along with light honey, passion fruit and pineapple. Good acidity that seems stronger due to the lighter style of the wine. Not a great Baumard, but one that has plenty of interesting things going on in it. Ive had bottles that have shown the same and a little better than this one. A-/B+.
While the 99 Wasnt tasted at this tasting, Ill include the note I recently wrote on it just for additional perspective.
1999 Baumard- Quarts de Chaume
Fairly light on the nose, but there are some nice pear, stone and honey aromas. More viscous on the palate than the 98 and showing more ripeness, though less acidity. While the wine is a tad fat, the pear, pineapple, honey and mineral flavors are enjoyable and generous and there is enough acidity present to prevent the wine from being cloying. A-.