Winemaker Notes
2018 was a nearly perfect vintage, avoiding the Spring frosts which plagued 2016 and 2017. Mild summer weather and a warm autumn produced perfectly ripe fruit with moderate alcohol, juicy acidity and dense concentration. The young wines will need time to open up in bottle – or a quick decant. Baumard’s 2018 Papillon is a rich wine, immediately impressive, but likely to be extremely long-lived, capable of improving for 15-20 years.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Slowly developing, this wine from the butterfly (papillon) shaped vineyard is impressive. Its mineral character and its tight acidity are harbingers of long-term aging. The white fruits and tight texture will soften over time. Drink this fine wine from 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Clos du Papillon reveals a vibrant, lively bouquet with aromas of gentian, herbs, ripe orchard fruits and spices. Medium to full-bodied, ample and rich, creamy and satiny, it’s fresh and ends with a lemony, penetrating finish despite some residual sugar.
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Wine Spectator
This distinctive white offers a striking mineral undertone, with a flinty aroma flanking the yellow peach, blanched almond, tarragon and heather notes. A bracing acidity gives this focus. Drink now through 2027.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
Known for its delightful whites and sparkling Pétillant and Mousseux, made predominantly of Chenin blanc, Anjou has a temperate and dry maritime climate. The region's limited temperature variations are admiringly referred to locally as the “douceur angevine,” or “Anjou sweetness.” Fruit forward rosé and red wines from Cabernet Franc and Gamay merit Anjou its success within the Loire subregions.