Chardonnay - A Much Derided Grape - Part I

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 today:


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. 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 will follow IIRC already next week and then we shall see the scary stuff like a Californian (Newton, I think?) with lots of Parker Points! I am already scared.

Documentary on Thomas Tallis & Bill Tweet

I just watched a lovely - for the most part - documentary on one of my favourite decomposers, Thomas Tallis. Some wonder why I, as an atheist, have such a strong love-affair with Renaissance Polyphony (and JS Bach) since so much of their music is religious. My answer is very simple: I don't understand why that should matter.

BTW, it isn't the religious politics of England at the time that made put the "for the most part" above, but rather that they use a graphologist to tell them about how the composers were feeling! A graphologist? Pseudo-scientist? What on earth could that possibly bring to a documentary? Oh well, just skip those few instances, and then this is a nice documentary:

La Soufrandise Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes 2007

Domaine La Soufrandise Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes 2007

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.

Papin-Chevalier Savennières Clos de Coulaine 2007

We see very little Loire and of that tiny amount we only have a couple Chenins - sadly, as that is one of my favourite grapes. But I noticed a new vintage of the Papin-Chevalier Savennières Clos de Coulaine 2007 (14% abv; 21€) so I had to try it. I have read that this is the same as Ch. Pierre-Bise but why isn't Pierre-Bise on the label? (To this, Jim Budd of Jim's Loire (see links on the right!) quickly replied: it's part of Claude and Joëlle Papin's production. Pierre-Bise is in the commune of Beaulieu-sur-Layon, while Coulaine is across the Loire in Savennières. Coulaine belongs to the Roussier family from whom the Papin's rent the vines.)




This new vintage is very much in the style of the '01-'06 I have tried: rich. It is a scent that is obviously Chenin with its hay and apple aromas. There is perhaps a touch of oak there also? Or then I am mistaking the richness for it - but anyway, it isn't bothersome and is hardly noticeable. Full, rich palate, but good acidity and grip, even a bit of minerality so the whole is actually very moreish. I think it has better focus than the two previous vintages.

I might prefer a more austere style of Chenin, but with the absence of any but those of the lunatic Joly, I am very happy to drink this.

More from Texier + a spoofy Spaniard

My brother's wife bought back a Marques de la Concordia Rioja Extrême 2004 from trip to Barcelona. She and the rest of the family minus me liked it very, very much so I guess she made a good choice. I struggled with it, however. 15 months in new French oak and all it smelled of was milk-chocolate. Creamy palate.

I bought a bottle of Tulloch Semillon 2008 to try them out on it - and I am happy to say I am not the only one to like painfully young Hunter Valley Semillon! Lovely lime aromas, high acidity but friendly enough that it was very moreish.

We also had a couple Texiers. Éric Texier Roussanne Côtes du Rhône-Brézème 2007 (12,5% abv). A very hard wine to describe. The best I can come up with now is a mix of honey and mint but without the sweetness or herbaceous sharpness. But it isn't neutral. Rich and ripe but with refreshing acidity for a white Rhone. Refreshing, clean, almost crisp. Very enjoyable. I drank quite a bit of the 2006, but I think this '07 might be even better.

Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône Villages St. Gervais Vieilles Vignes des Cadinières 2005 (13% abv). Almost a year since my last taste. This is a truly lovely wine. It has lovely purity despite a warm year, dark fruit but refreshing, sweet and ripe but bright. Good body, but the flesh isn't what strikes me most: it is the wonderfully refreshing structure. Elegant and substantial. Lovely wine.

Margan Semillon 2008

I always read about Hunter Valley Semillons being very tough when young and only blossoming with plenty of age. I have enjoyed them young, too - perhaps I tolerate searing acidity too well! So I was happy try the most recent arrival of one to Alko, the Margan Hunter Valley Semillon 2008 (11,5% abv; 6,5 g/l acidity; like everything else here, overpriced at 30,20€), which I also very much enjoyed. It actually seemed a bit on the plump and ripe side compared to the others I have had. It has some nice lime aromas, minerality, some red fruit thrown in with the citrus. Lovely acidity but not in amounts that would make it difficult to drink. Instead it is rounded out by a ripe/sweetish touch (relative to other Semillons, of course) to the fruit. I like it. I don't feel like I have to make excuses for it being young or too tight: I simply like it. It was a hedonistic pleasure. But this is fairly ripe and low acidity and high alcohol for a classic Hunter Valley style.

But I think it is almost criminal of our Monopoly to have a price of 30€ when it can be bought in Europe for 13€.

Texier visits Finland

Texier is one of the wineries that I really love, so it was great fun to meet Mr. Texier, as he not only makes some of my favourite wines from the Rhône, but he also is one of the nicest wine-people I have met. (FWIW, I also had a little part in making his wines available in Finland.)


Picture by: Ville Henriksson (Viini TV)

Éric Texier Mâcon-Bussières Très Vieilles Vignes 2006
Some truly lovely lemon-curd aromas, but also - unlike my last taste - a touch of oak (but nothing worrisome for most drinkers - IIRC, this doesn't see any new oak at all). The palate is really lovely: crisp, citric, mineral, pleasantly acidic and very, very long. Lovely wine.

Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône 2006
Nice, sweet scent without being over the top. Rather it was a scent that begged me to sniff and sip it again. Elegant Grenache fruit, with quite a bit of savoury character in addition to its usual sweetness. Quite lovely!

Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône Villages Vaison La Romaine 2007
100% Grenache. Deep red. A really lovely aroma of meat and general savouryness in addition to ripe, sweet fruit. This wasn't a Grenache like I have experienced before: this was deeply structured, lively, vigorous and refreshing. Lovely!

Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône-Brézème Domaine de Pergault 2006
Lovely stuff. It smells of bacon and dark fruit, it is an extremely beautiful exponent of a savoury style of Syrah. Wonderful grip, acidity and savouryness on the palate. Despite being very primary, it is wonderfully drinkable, and I think I could easily drink a bottle of this alone. Brilliant wine!

Éric Texier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2006
A sweet but savoury aroma. As one who doesn't usually care for Grenache, I really find it amazing how lovable Texier manages to make his Southern Rhones! Despite all the sweetness one expects from this area, this has lovely purity and refreshing structure from both tannins and acidity. (Experiencing acidity in CdP must really be rare...) Lovely wine; very primary but open.

Éric Texier Nôble Rot "Botrytis" 2001 (Mâcon-Bussières)
A really lovely aroma of botrytis but in an elegant rather than overblown way. It smells of copper. More dry on the palate than I expected from the scent (c.50g/l RS IIRC what Texier said). Fun sweetish dessert!



Éric Texier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc IX Réserve Improbable 2003



A rare wine, only 60 bottles made; no sulfur; 100% Bourboulenc. Despite perhaps the hottest year on record, this wine has a little under 13% abv! Texier uses the grape to bring acidity into his CdP whites. This rare bottling is mostly used at the property. He very kindly gave one to me on his visit to Finland. And I found it rather awesome! The scent was a mixture of almost Riesling-like savoury, crystallized fruit and sensuous richness. The palate was certainly big but it was reigned in by good acidity (especially for this year) and some grip that was strong enough that it seemed like tannins. Lovely wine and IIRC the only '03 Rhône I have had that didn't seem hampered by the difficulties of the year.