WTN: Chardonnay tasting Parts I - II

I hate Chardonnay unless it is bubbly and comes, preferably, from Champagne. Though I will admit that Chablis can be quite nice on occasion. And come to think of it, the Jura is pretty awesome! Oh yeah, and those non-Chablis Burgundies can sometimes be worth a sniff... My previous experiences with this grape are mostly of extreme boredom punctuated by the occasional truly memorable wine.

I felt like it was time to try more of the grape as a still wine, so we had a small tasting of some a week ago:

Part I:


Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Beaujolais Blanc 2008 - label

I drank a Jahre Vikingful of the 2007 but I think this '08 is even better. This was only my second bottle of the '08 (certainly won't be the last). It seems to have less obvious malo than the '07 and is more bright and crisp. No oak. Clean and mineral finish. Very, very much fun.

Éric Texier Mâcon-Bussières Très Vieilles Vignes 2006

From vines of 80-100yo! When Eric was recently in Finland he stated that he doesn't want this wine to taste of Chardonnay (this comment immediately reminded me of Tom Blach! ). I thought it had a lovely lemon scent, mineral, perhaps a touch of vanilla (I know Texier doesn't like the smell of oak in his wines, but on occasion I do find some in his Mâcons!). Like a coiled up spring in its exciting energy waiting to be released. Wonderfully refreshing and moreish. If more Chardonnay were like this, I would drink it regularly. Awesome wine!

Domaine La Soufrandise Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes 2007 - label

Françoise et Nicolas Melin; 13,5% abv; 6,5g/l acidity; 20€. 45% of the wine was aged for 10 months in oak of which 20% was new. The vines are 75 years old. Upon opening it shows some new oak influence, but gladly other, more pleasurable aromas, quickly take over and citrus brightness prevails. Full body but crisp acidity, good grip. I enjoyed this but it isn't a match for Texier's Mâcon-Bussières.

Domaine Tissot (André & Mireille now Stéphane) Arbois Les Bruyères 2005

Bought from Fortnum & Masons in London; I took one to Mark Temple's at our Oxford off-line. I still think it is awesome - one of the best Chardonnays I have ever had. Leesy, almost like fino Sherry on the nose, yet with wonderful purity. Very much citrus on the palate, crunchy with much grip. Awesome. I want more. Sadly the others liked this, too, so I wasn't able to drink it all by myself.

Capel Vale Chardonnay Margaret River Regional Series 2007 - label

21,40€; 13,5% abv; 6,5g/l acidity; under Stelvin. Light gold. A bit shy aromatically even towards the end of the tasting when it had had a couple hours in a decanter. It sees 9 months in French oak and, though noticeable, I presume it wasn't all new because it is quite elegantly done compared to most Chardonnay we see here - whether new or old world! It manifests itself as a slight vanillary and ashy edge to the otherwise bright, citrus fruit. It has a touch of milky aromas from the malo, but just as with the oak, these aren't dominating so I can forgive their existence. Medium body, moderately crisp acidity, nice refreshing aftertaste. Nice enough wine; but seems a bit safe and lacking in excitement.


Part II

We had a small tasting today with three Californians, one of which I liked very much and only one of which was truly scary!

We started with a rare unoaked example, Marimar Estate (Marimar Torres) Chardonnay Acero Don Miguel Vineyard 2007 (label), that I had tried once before. I enjoyed it the previous time but thought the alcohol (14,2% abv) showed a little bit. This time - maybe due to the company - I didn't sense any alcohol at all. Bright aromas of lime, green apples and even some minerals. It has some nice crunch to the palate with clean acidity to counter the ripe fruit. With no heat this time, I very much enjoyed this!

The next wine was quite scary, however. Newton Chardonnay "Red Label" 2005 (60% Sonoma County, 40% Napa County; 15,5% abv; 6,3 g/l acidity; 23,90€; label)

Smells of caramel corn. Tastes like it, too: very sweet and toffeed palate. And that's about it, i.e. amazingly the massive alcohol doesn't really show through the massiveness of everything else! Rich, massive, confected and concentrated. Oddly enough the oak in this doesn't manifest itself as bitter unpleasantness but rather in soft, sweet tones: it is a dessert yet it isn't sweet. It has a strange, warped harmony to it. But it is mpressive for all the wrong reasons.

I had formed the preconception that our last wine, the Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay 2006 (Napa County; label), should have been the most massive - some years have seen massive Parker scores and notes on CT and elsewhere suggest a massive, gobby, oak-spoof-fest. After the Red Label, this was actually quite restrained! This smells like wine rather than dessert popcorn. It is certainly oaky with some butter and vanilla aromas, but at least after the Red Label it is the citrus and white flower aromas that are most noticeable. Full bodied, but once again the massive alcohol (15% abv) doesn't really show! Smooth entry, the acidity appears mid-palate and grows toward the end - the finish is more carried by the acidity than the sheer power of fruit! Sadly with air, the oak becomes more and more obvious.

Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Beaujolais Blanc 2008 - I drank a Jahre Vikingful of the 2007 but I think this '08 is even better. This was only my second bottle of the '08 (certainly won't be the last). It seems to have less obvious malo than the '07 and is more bright and crisp. No oak. Clean and mineral finish. Very, very much fun.

Glad to hear it. I often look at this wine and never get around to buying it, but consistency seems to be one of its strong points.

Capel Vale Chardonnay Margaret River Regional Series 2007
shy aromatically... sees 9 months in French oak... I presume it wasn't all new [oak] because it is quite elegantly done... vanillary and ashy edge... bright, citrus fruit... milky aromas from the malo... nice enough wine; but seems a bit safe and lacking in excitement.

A perfect description (!) of the New Wave Aussie style Chardonnay that's becoming the new standard in Australia. Unfortunately, it's just too insipid. Success in Aussie Chards seems more likely in the big ripe traditional style, just toned back enough on the oak and fat to be elegant enough for a bigger style.

Marimar Estate (Marimar Torres) Chardonnay Acero Don Miguel Vineyard 2007
bright aromas of lime, green apples and even some minerals... some nice crunch ... ripe fruit... heat this time, I very much enjoyed this!
Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay 2006
quite restrained... certainly oaky with some butter and vanilla aromas, but... the citrus and white flower aromas [] are most noticeable... smooth entry, the acidity appears mid-palate and grows toward the end - the finish is more carried by the acidity than the sheer power of fruit!

And that, IMO, is why California can (generally) make better (more interesting, complex, balanced) Chardonnay than Australia can.

and those non-Chablis Burgundies can sometimes be worth a sniff... My previous experiences with this grape are mostly of extreme boredom punctuated by the occasional truly memorable wine.

And that is, IMO, why good white Burgundy is still the best Chardonnay in the world.

Great notes Otto, thanks!

Rahsaan, at the prices you can get this in the US, you should try it.

Ben, so who makes an interesting style of Aussie Chardonnay but with the oak reined back?

Rahsaan, at the prices you can get this in the US, you should try it.

Yes, I was very close to buying the 2008 yesterday for dinner. But went with the Tue Bouef Rouillon instead. Which was not a bad move either.

Maybe I'll buy the Brun for tonight's party.

Ben, so who makes an interesting style of Aussie Chardonnay but with the oak reined back?

There are plenty with reasonably restrained oak these days I think, the challenge is finding one with restrained oak that's not insipid! You're probably familiar with those with the reputation: Cullen, Leeuwin, Moss Wood, Giaconda etc (though some of these can have noticable oak IMO), but I think even the best of these don't really compare with the best of California, let alone Burgundy. It seems to me that Australia is still best at lots of ripe fruit with a decent whack of oak (that the fruit can handle), with some leesy characters overlaid and not too much weight (I think Bannockburn, for example, do this style quite well).