Light straw colour, mineral aromas with notes of apple and peach on the nose. Lemon, apple and pink grapefruit on the palate. The mousse is elegant and refined and there is plenty of crisp acidity. Crisp and refreshing, vibrant and delicate, this sparkling wine is worth going out of your way to try. The finish is long and dry with attractive biscuity notes. The Baumard approach to viticulture is a notable one, and it does make it easy to spot the Baumard vines in any given appellation. They are trained in a fashion Baumard describe as vignes hautes et larges (sometimes abbreviated to VHL); the larges refers to the distance between the vines, a remarkable 3 metres between the rows and 0.8 metres between each vine, whereas the hautes refers to the high trellising system employed, taking the vines to a height of more than 2 metres, the object being to obtain a large surface area of foliage. During the vegetative period they see limited leaf-thinning along their base, but otherwise there is little intervention at this time, not even topping-off of the upper shoots as they reach for the sky above. Between the rows, the soil is alternatively ploughed and grassed over, a methodology the Baumards have been following for well over 40 years. The harvest is manual, and the fruit transported in small plastic cages to minimise damage. The fruit is hand harvest to ensure that only the best quality is used. On arrival at the winery, it is placed in a pneumatic press but only the first press wine is used. The first fermentation is in temperature controlled tanks with Chenin, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay being fermented separately. After blending re-fermentation takes place in the bottle and the wine is then aged on its lees for over a year. Grape varieties: Cabernet Franc 50%, Chenin Blanc 25%, Chardonnay 25%.