Chardonnay Monday: Meursault (Yum!)

Today's Chardonnay comes from Meursault ("Murr-so") in the Côte-de-Beaune in France's Burgundy region. One source I read said that some of the finest white wines in France come from Meursault. This Burgundian village produces almost enirely white wine, which means Chardonnay. These wines are described as both "full-bodied and acidic" resulting in a wine that is a real pleasure to taste and feel in your mouth.

I found my bottle a local Sacramento store more known for its Italian wine selection, Corti Brothers. I was looking for a Friuli wine for last month's Wine Blogging Wednesday, but was not able to find one. Instead, I brought home this French wine that I had been wanting to try. It cost me $30 which is almost twice what I paid for the other Chardonnays I've featured on Chardonnay Monday, but it was worth it.

The maker is Charton et Trebuchet, a négociant who produces wine from grapes he buys from vineyards not his/her own. This bottle had aged for ten years, and I wonder how much that added to the flavors.

When I poured the wine and looked at it in the glass, it was like I had some liquid gold. The wine looked thick due to the attractive dark gold color. The nose was pleasant (but thanks to a cold I have) I wasn't able to smell too much. The flavors were very nice, but the mouth feel was almost like cream. I've had a Rombauer Chardonnay that cost about the same price and had a similar heavy mouth feel, but the Meursault was somehow more attractive. I don't know if it was the age or the style, but the flavors and mouthfeel combined very nicely. This is my favorite style of Chardonnay that I've tried so far.

I don't know how many more Mondays I continue featuring Chardonnays, but it's been enjoyable and educational to focus on one grape to see how many ways it can be made into wine. I'll have to try some other countries before I call it quits!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Deep gold

Aroma: Peach, light yeast

Taste: Cream, Medium to heavy mouth feel

Finish: Light tannins, maybe some oak

Cardonnay Monday: Another Pouilly-Fuissé

For a while on Mondays I'll be posting on Chardonnay wines as I learn more about different styles of wines made with this grape. My first entry was on a Pouilly-Fuissé. Today I'm reviewing the Pierre Dupond.

I was not able to find out much about this French wine maker other than the fact that the family has been growing grapes and making wines since around 1860. Wines that were sold to local towns to satisfy the desire of the working folk for a light, thirst quenching wine. I think today's Dupond Pouilly-Fuissé still meets those requirements.

The first Pouilly-Fuissé I tried (the Louis Jadot) was heavyily oaked, and though the wine was good, it wasn't as enjoyable on it's own as it was with food. However, the Dupond is pleasant all on it's own. It has some oak to it too, but it isn't the main characteristic of the wine. There were more flavors, like melon and honey to be savored. The wine was slightly sweet and had a little bite from either the acidity or alcohol (though it was only 13%.)

I enjoyed this Pouilly-Fuissé more than the Louis Jadot and much more than the under $15.00 Chardonnays I am used to drinking. This bottle cost me $17.99 at BevMo. Again, I'd like to ask if anyone knows of an American wine maker who makes this variety of Chardonnay: I'd love to support them with my wine dollar!

Tasting Notes:

2003 Pierre Duond Pouilly-Fuissé

Color: Golden yellow

Aroma: Melon, honey and yeast (almost like a Viognier)

Taste: Light, light oak, tiny amount of sweetness with a little bite

Finish: An oak finish

Pouilly-Fuisse

CONTENT NOTE: Chardonnay Monday:

On Mondays, I'll be posting about wines made from Chardonnay. For awhile these will be wines from the various regions in France (ex. Chablis, Pouilly-Fuisse, Beaune, etc.) that produce different types of Chardonnay wines. I'm curious about the different ways the Chardonnay grape is made into wine, especially in France.

When I stared learning about wine a little over a year ago, I was disappointed with Chardonnay. They all seemed too sweet or had too much citrus flavor for me. I thought maybe I just didn't like the Chardonnay grape. So it was with a little reluctantance that I focused on the Chardonnay wines of France. Gary Vaynerchuk at Wine Library TV has been expounding the virtures of French Chardonnay for a while and so I thought I finally learn more about them. I'm glad I did!

The first French Chardonnays I tried were from the Pouilly-Fuisse (Poo-yee Fwee-say) appellation from the Macon region of Burgundy, France. The growing villages of Pouilly-Fuisse are clustered in a roughtly cointiuous area of about 1,400 acreas located 20 miles west of Mâcon.

One of the more well known vinyard owners / negociants in the area is Louis Jadot. I've seen bottles of Louis Jadot wine in all the wine shops I frequent and in most of the grocery stores in my area. Louis Jadot started making wine in 1859. In 1985, the US wine and spirit corporation Kobrand bought Louis Jadot, becoming the first American company to buy a Burgundy producer.

The important part of all this to me is how the wine tastes. When I took my first sip it reminded me of the flavor I assosciated Chardonnay: oak. I know that its popular now to prefer a more natural untouched expression of the grape, but I grew up with oaky Chardonnays and that's the flavor I anticipate when I think of the grape. It may not be the best pairing, but Thanksgiving turkey and an oaky Chardonnay go hand in hand for me! The Louis Jadot was dry, too. I did detect apples on the nose, but there was no sweetness or citrus flavors that had turned me off to Chardonnay before. The Louis Jadot was $26 at my local BevMo, so if you know of a local wine that has the same dry, oaky flavors of this wine and costs less, please let me know. But even at this price, I'm happy to drink Chardonnay again!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Light bonde, almost champagne colored

Aroma: Yeast, apple and OAK

Taste: Nice dryness; medium mouthfeel; oak

Finish: Slight acidity and the flavor lingers

Is There Still Gold in Australia?

That’s what the wine makers at Aussie Vineyards would have you believe with their line of Au wines. The attractive bottles have been catching my eye as I shop at a Sacramento area grocery store chain, Raley’s, which has an exclusive arrangement to carry the wines.


I wanted a Chardonnay to go with the roasted chicken and garlic potatoes my family was having for dinner last night. After picking selecting a bird and a tub of ready to heat mashed potatoes, I decided to try the Au. From the description on the bottle the wine seemed to be the way I like Chardonnays, with oak. At $10 I didn’t have too much to lose.


Aussie Vineyards is located in Queensland, South Australia, in the newly coined Limestone Coast. The grapes for my particular wine came from the Henty Estate vineyard in the Granite Belt region, one of the better known wine regions in Queensland. As its name implies, the soils in this area are granite laden. Its elevation makes it the coolest part of Queensland and there is relatively low rainfall. Grapevines tend to do well here and it seems an ideal place for Chardonnay.
Tasting Notes:


Color:
Light golden yellow

Aroma:
Oak was the predominate smell. I couldn’t detect any citrus, but just the almost vanilla aroma of a Chardonnay.

Taste:
Oak again was the main flavor I could detect. There was also a lot of heat from the alcohol, even though it was only 13.8%. The bottle described this wine as buttery, but I didn’t detect it, though it did have a slightly thicker mouth feel.

Finish:
The finish was awkward, a combination of the heat from the alcohol and residue of oak.

This was an unimpressive Chardonnay. However, I did enjoy it more than an unoaked version that tastes more like a Sauvignon Blanc. It went well with the roasted chicken and garlic potatoes.