2005 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Quarts de Chaume (3/30/2008) This late harvest Chenin Blanc is unassailable pleasure. The nose is delirious honeydew melons, with apricot syrup. Same on the palate, with melons, apricots, orange blossom, and a touch of lemon-lime with honey. Poised balance between intense sweetness and crisp acidity, and a lengthy finish. This went equally well with desserts, and by itself. Want a capable alternative to a Sauternes? This will do. (96 pts.)
Get your hands on a bottle of aged QdC and you will experience the nuance that this wine only gives off with some bottle age.
IW
Life without wine?...... Yeah Right. The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living - Socrates "Wine....offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than possibly any other purely sensory thing which may be purchased" ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1889-1961)
ITB
Posts: 3156 | Location: Louisville, KY | Registered: Nov 14, 2001
I opened one of several splits I have of this, a couple of weeks ago. Splendid, however definately young. Open a '96 or even a 2003 and you'll start to see what IW means. These age VERY well, with the complexity of the secondary nuances really beginning to shine after a few years.
Posts: 4154 | Location: Montreal, QC & MI | Registered: Feb 17, 2007
I had planned to open a '99 Delesvaux Coteau du Layon SGN, but I was intrigued to see what a young QdC tasted like, so I opened a half-bottle of the '05. It was certainly not flawed, and everyone enjoyed it, but I was expecting something more like the '95 I tried within the last couple years, and I gotta' say I was a touch disappointed. After this experience, I couldn't agree more with IW and KSCO2 about aging them. The '05 was quite viscous, balanced, and refreshing, with all the musk mellon and yellow fruits you could ever ask for, but it didn't have that electric spine, quince and ginger aspect, or the endless finish of the '05. Count me among those urging patience with this wine. No rating.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
Posts: 1220 | Location: Denver, CO | Registered: Jan 02, 2003
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