2017 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume (375 mL) Half-Bottle

Any lover of wine must try Domaine des Baumard’s Quarts de Chaume. The outscored the 2017 Château d’Yquem in Decanter, and its 97-point score made it the top sweet wine of the vintage, by Decanter as well as Wine & Spirits magazine. The 2017 is a wine of “Edenic bounty,” in the words of W&S, who couldn’t help gushing like Proust with a buzz. “A taste completely fills your head, tucking that bounty of fruit into every corner of your skull until it feels like your brain is cushioned in a cloud.”

Quarts de Chaume is the only Grand Cru in the Loire Valley, and it is tiny: 20 producers combine to make just 50,000 bottles per year. Domaine des Baumard is the biggest producer of Quarts de Chaume, but they have just six hectares—barely 15 acres—in this area known for “geological chaos.” The Layon River supplies the morning mist that encourages the famed botrytis cinerea, or the Noble Rot crucial to Sauternes production. 

Noble Rot is not required by the Quarts de Chaume AOP rules, and Florent Baumard, who took over from his father Jean in 1990, believes that botrytis can dominate a wine, thereby destroying any sense of terroir. That’s why he uses just 1/3 botrytis-affected grapes for his Quarts de Chaume, combining them with equal parts concentrated berries and simply ripe ones. 

From a domaine with nearly 400 years of history behind it, born of a great terroir and a meticulous winemaking practice, this is one of the world’s greatest wines. We’re thrilled to share it with you.