Domaine des Baumard: under screwcap since 2005
Florent Baumard makes gorgeous, beautifully precise wines from Savennieres, Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume, among other appellations. His family has been making wine there since 1634. But since 2005, in a move somewhat at odds with the region and age-worthy wines, he’s been putting the wines all under screw cap.
The experiment first started in 2003. Frustrated by the different evolution of wines under cork, Baumard started with the Clos du Papillon bottling from Savennieres: Half the production went under cork, half under screw cap (aka Stelvin closure). Within two years all the still wines were under screwcap. I tasted the 2007 Clos du Papillon Savennieres and didn’t find it reduced but it was tight, presumably from youth. I also had a 1999 Clos de Saint Yves Savennieres, bottled under cork, that wasn’t showing too much evolution; instead it was rich, layered and deliciously complex as chenin blanc can be. So is it the right call? Who knows. One day in the future, it would be fascinating to taste some of those ’03s bottled under different closures.
I tweeted about the screw caps–not exactly breaking news, but interesting nonetheless–and someone joked if Florent wasn’t just a little bit Australian. No, he replied, but after his saga with verdelho, he admitted he admires their freedoms.
On February 9th, 2011 at 4:49 pm ,Tweets that mention Domaine des Baumard: under screwcap since 2005 | Dr Vino's wine blog -- Topsy.com wrote:
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by WineBlogFeed, Wine Club and Wine Lover, Susan Rice. Susan Rice said: Domaine des Baumard: under screwcap since 2005: Florent Baumard makes gorgeous, beautifully precise wines from S… http://bit.ly/gV634Q […]
On February 9th, 2011 at 7:47 pm ,Alex A wrote:
I think that the data base showing the superiority for screw caps as the closure of choice for aromatic white wines is there. I hope that Alsace producers also jump on the bandwagon en masse!
On February 10th, 2011 at 12:23 am ,@TanninKC wrote:
Tasted 02 v 05 recently and the 02 was much more advanced. Not sure that I would use “reductive” on the 05, though I’ve done it before. 02 was next to beautifully mature.
On February 10th, 2011 at 2:13 pm ,Paul Kalemkiarian wrote:
I do think it was the right call given the enormous variation in quality among wines bottled under cork, and am happy to know a few non-Australian producers are catching onto this trend.
Do report back with your findings if you get a chance to taste the ’03.
Paul Kalemkiarian
President, Wine of the Month Club
http://www.wineofthemonthclub.com
On February 11th, 2011 at 4:25 pm ,Mr. Zdur wrote:
Had a ’95 Quarts de Chaume a couple of months, yum town!
On February 14th, 2011 at 12:47 pm ,Rick Baumgarten wrote:
Coincidentally, I had the ’05 last night before reading this. I found it rich, with an almost creamy texture. It also had a bit of a smoky component. We had this with a
Ceviche appetizer and it was a good,but not great match. savannierres is my favorite with sushi.
On February 14th, 2011 at 3:52 pm ,goodeatsbykmuir wrote:
Surely is an interesting revolution in the wine world today… so many screw caps and hopefully someday soon all consumers will cease from making the presumption that screw cap implies cheap.