Domaine des Baumard Coteaux du Layon Carte d’Or 2023 HALF

Description A deliciously appley, tangy sweet white wine from the Chenin Blanc grape, and the Coteaux du Layon vineyards of the Loire Valley. If you find Sauternes a touch rich, try this fresh sweet white. It’s a superb food match too! TASTING NOTE: This has a lovely pale yellow/gold colour with a hint of green. On the nose: fragrant appley notes with citrus peel, peach, some floral aromas and a hint of beeswax, often found with Loire Chenin Blanc. On the palate: it is medium in body with juicy fruit characters and excellent balance between the relatively high acidity of Chenin Blanc, that makes your mouth water, and the sweetness of the dessert style. It’s moderate in alcohol at 11.5%, with a rounded, succulent, apple-scented finish that lasts for considerable time. It’s not as unctuous as Sauternes but has delicious flavour complexity. 11.5% alcohol. FOOD PAIRING, STORING AND SERVICE: The fresh, sweet nature of this wine and its appley flavour make a superb match with apple pie, and lemon meringue. Domaine des Baumards also suggest blue-veined cheeses and plum tart. For a more savoury match, try with pate or sweetbreads. The local match would be Pate de Chartres, a particularly rich pate made from game and also foie gras, but possibly not if you are on a diet! The Loire marketing body suggest pairing with a thai fish dish and coconut/lime sauce, which sounds good to us. Drink now while appley and fresh, or keep for another five years, if you like a more earthy, honeyed style. Serve at 8-10 degrees. ABOUT: Domaine des Baumard is based in the Anjou region of the Loire Valley, on the south bank of the Loire River, in a town called Rochefort sur Loire. Following on from his father Jean, Florent Baumard makes dry and sweet wines, with the latter from either Quarts de  Chaume or Coteaux du Layon AOC, as here. The Baumard family also purchased vineyards from the north bank of the river, in Savennieres, an extremely highly-regarded appellation for dry wines. Their Savennieres Clos du Papillon dry white is thoroughly worth seeking out, as well as their other sweet wines.