2018 Domaine des Baumard Savennieres Clos du Papillon 750 ml

Chablis has Raveneau. Burgundy has Lafon. And the Loire Valley’s one-of-a-kind white-wine appellation of Savennières has Domaine des Baumard, the icon whose dense, complex, fascinating wines don’t just linger in your mind—they take up permanent residence. 

Baumard’s 2018 Savennières Clos du Papillon is one of those unforgettable wines. The newest vintage of a highly-sought-after bottling with an extremely devoted following, it’s a timeless expression of a thoroughly unique place. Rich, complex, dry, and built on a vibrant acidity that builds to a crescendo, it pairs joyfully with a myriad of foods and packs enough longevity to evolve for at least a decade and a half in the cellar. 

Wines of this caliber and collectibility from better-known appellations cost triple digits, easy. The 2018 Baumard is a shining example of why Savennières is a favorite category for savvy wine-collectors and why the domaine is one of the standard-bearers of the region.

One sip of this wine sent us back to the first Savennières that captivated our palates. We were outside the hamlet of Rochefort-sur-Loire, and on a south-southeast facing slope we glimpsed a walled-in parcel shaped like a butterfly. It was called Clos du Papillon, and we knew that we’d found something special.

It benefits from a perfect south/southeastern exposure, essential for nurturing slow-maturing Chenin to optimal ripeness. The wine features an instantly recognizable gunflint minerality—just like the one that, all those years ago when we first tasted it, sliced through our picnic lunch of goat cheese and pâté like it was nothing. That was an amazing pairing, but we also recommend it alongside fried foods and spicier Thai and Indian fare.

Vintage after vintage, this wine is a stunner.