Domaine des Baumard is situated right in the heart of the Anjou, in the town of Rochefort-Sur-Loire, just south of Savennières itself. The property has been in the Baumard family since 1634, but it was reconstituted and improved by Jean Baumard in the mid-1950s. Since 1992 the Estate has been run with meticulous care by Jean’s son, Florent, and the Domaine is now regarded as one of the best producers in the Loire Valley and one of the greatest producers of white wine in the world.
You were one of the first fine wine makers to move towards bottling under screw cap, what was your driving force to do so?
Screw cap and crown caps are, so far, the only reliable closures to protect a wine from age (oxidation) in a glass bottle. They are neutral, airtight and leak-proof and avoid oxidation meaning that each bottle will taste the same, preserving the freshness of flavour. They also make storage easier as it makes no difference if the wine is stored horizontally or vertically and the wine is able to age according to its own qualities. Some of my wines can age for over a century so it is very important to have efficient closures.
What do you like most about the wine business?
What I like most about the wine life (business is not the right word for me) is the diversity. The cycle is annual, but never the same. It is worrying and exciting at the same time.
If you could only drink one wine for the rest of your life what would it be?
A Savennières Clos du Papillon of course! It makes you fly away every time.
What is your favourite food and wine pairing for your wines?
Our wines work really well with fish, vegetables, fruits and spices. My tip is to prepare as many bottles as possible ahead of time so that you are always able to react to the best match!
What do you do in your spare time?
Share wine with people of good taste, or with a developed enough sense of humour. Travel. Surf on snow, kite-surf on water. Sail and cycle.
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