2002 Domaine des Baumard Côteaux du Layon Clos de Sainte Catherine

Domaine des Baumard is in the Loire Valley, 12 miles southwest of d’Angers. It is in the northern end of the Coteaux du Layon appellation. The estate’s history dates to the 17th century when the Baumard family was already making wine in the area, and it is today run by Florent Baumard, who took over in 1990 after working for years with his father, Jean Baumard, who was not only a winemaker but a well-known professor of agriculture and viticulture in d’Angers. Domaine des Baumard today includes 100 acres of vineyards and the estate produces white, red, rose and sparkling wines. It is best known for its Savennieres and its sweet Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume wines. Robert M. Parker Jr. notes that the domaine’s wines “have become the world’s best-known ambassadors for their respective appellations.”

The Loire Valley in central France is home to numerous important appellations and sub-appellations. Its 185,000 vineyard acres include 87 appellations in Anjou, Samur, Touraine and Chinon, among other areas. The Loire River, which stretches from Nantes on the Atlantic Coast to Orleans, about 80 miles south of Paris, has been a boon to winemaking in the region ever since the Romans planted vineyards some 2,000 years ago. The river moderates the climate in the Loire Valley, which in the 11th and 12th centuries produced wine that was more prized than the wines of Bordeaux or Burgundy. Today the Loire Valley is best known for its white wines, though it actually produces as much red and white wine. The prestigious white wines of the region are Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Muscadet and Vouvray. The white grapes most frequently grown are Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Melon de Bourgogne. The best red wines are typically Cabernet Franc or Gamay. Though Loire Valley wines are widely admired in France, outside of the country they suffer from a lack of recognition. In writing about Loire wines, Hugh Johnson has noted that the “classic word for them is charming; the classic mystery that they are not more appreciated outside of France.”