The Baumard 2004 Savennieres introduces a fascinatingly musky, faintly sweaty, animal suggestion to a nose otherwise dominated by lemon, grapefruit and peach. In the mouth, it blossoms to layers of fresh peach and quince, brine and chalk minerality, finishing persistently with musky florality, anise, and subtle bitterness of herbs, alkaline minerality, and fruit skin. This should be fascinating to follow over at least a 6-8 year period. As my descriptors indicate, both the 2003 and 2004 Baumard Savennieres give prominence to the rather reductive youthful side of Chenin, and I cannot help but wonder whether this has been enhanced by their use of screw caps as closures. Robert Parker 89
