WTN: France vs. Califiornia, CA wins

[Jenise]

2015 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montmains Chardonnay
At Hundred North; ordered the '14 on the list but they brought a '15. Sigh. Deep golden color even in a dimly lit restaurant, unexpectedly ripe/forward/ready. Drank like a wine several years older. Enjoyable, but wouldn't seek this out in this vintage again. Especially with the fresh memory of this bottle from the night before:

2012 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Napa Valley
Pale yellow color. Montelena's exceptional quality evident from the first sip: aromas of Chablis-like flint and lemon with occasional whiffs of bay leaf and orange blossom. On the palate, concentrated minerality with lemon peel. Dry and Burgundian, and not fleshy as I feared it might be from this vintage. Killer deal at $27 in supermarket close-out bin.

If these wines were served side by side and blind, most would pick the Michel as the older wine.

[David M. Bueker]

Deep golden color? '15 is a ripe year, but that sounds advanced.

[Jenise]

Deep golden color? '15 is a ripe year, but that sounds advanced.

The lighting was very dim; I had to use a flashlight to read the menu. It might have been more accurate to say 'fairly golden', as I think it would have been in any light.

Montelena doesn't put their chardonnay through malolactic fermentation. They realize that in the California climate the grapes ripen enough that they don't need malo, and it would in fact be counterproductive. Hence those lemony notes.

-Paul W.