Winemaker Notes
The various shades of gold Quarts de Chaume displays throughout the course of its life are fascinating, telling, and always changing. Aromas are intensely floral, with ripe citrus, pear and other orchard fruits mingling with minerality. On the palate these same notes come through in an opulent, irresistible density that nevertheless finishes lifted and fresh.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Even at five years of age, with its pale yellow colour, this is strikingly youthful. Reinforcing that character, vibrant aromas of white flowers explode from the glass. Citrus notes and a hint of white peaches follow, without a hint of the mature apricot skin character that appears in older Quarts de Chaume.
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James Suckling
Aromas of baked pears, green apples, sage and thyme. Medium-bodied with charming sweetness. Supple and bright with a solid core of candied berries and fresh flowers. Honey and almond skin. Lovely length here too. Seriously tasty.
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Wine Spectator
Intensely vibrant and youthful, this sweet, floral wine offers an elegant mix of high-toned citrus blossoms, jasmine and honeyed apple punctuated by warming spices, with crushed herbs and chalky mineral bringing freshness. Drink now through 2035.
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.