Category: Chardonnay

2014 Moreau Naudet Chablis Pargues

Happily the contents of the bottle are a lot better than the label artwork. There’s a weird phenomenon with these traditionally made oxidative sorts inasmuch as this opened with a bit of a developed colour and a whiff of sherry but as it sucked in the air things just got fresher and paler. Real Chablis scents of sweet lemon yoghurt, flowery honey and the seaside. Beautifully weighted palate of pithy fruit and firm, caressing acidity. Second day it got even fresher, crisper and deeper fruited. Is this supposed to happen with white wine!? Beautiful texture and the last mouthful the best. Great vintage.

12.50% alcohol. Cork. $70.

94 points.

NV Voirin Jumel Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs

A year since the last bottle and the time patiently lurking in the cupboard has enticed the latent fruit depth into focus. Impeccably clean, icing sugar coated citrus, quince, red apple and fine spice jumbled with ozone freshness and a small seasoning of brioche. Mineral acid tension. Great quality of fruit sweetness without any cloying dosage. A bottle between four vanished as quickly as appetites were sharpened. A magnum might not be too extravagant after all. Fantastic value from Champagne de Vigneron’s faultless direct import selections.

12% alcohol. Cork. About $55 pre arrival if memory serves, rarely.

93 points but extra bits for sheer yum.

2007 Moss Wood Margaret River Chardonnay

It’s always so good when a friend brings an old special bottle to dinner. Famous special label and regional variety too. Phew, this is a big fella. Still heaps of spicy, vanilla and coconut oak that still stands proudly next to big figgy, yellow peach and developing marmalade fruit. The firm acid finish somehow melds it all together. One for the barrel fans but some warm fruit generosity made the second glass as good as the first. No caricature but a sunny, warm and generous personality.

14.50% alcohol! Screwcap.

91 points.

2017 Domaine Heimbourger Chablis Cuvée Pierre

One of the joys of holidays in Paris is finding a new caviste with a small selection of consistently good choices. Even better if you realise you know not a lot about the producers on offer and the adventure keeps ending deliciously. So, hats off to the Marché St Martin again. Right from first sniff this is Chablis. Very slick wine making. Clean, almost sanitised, with a judicious seasoning of oak barrel. There’s some solid yellow and green fruit and that long, gentle but insistent acidity that makes Chablis so irresistible. So much wine, so little time and relative amounts of money. Next stop uncle Dan’s member specials.

13.00% alcohol. Cork. 18 euros.

92 points.

2017 Domaine Olivier Morin Constance Bourgogne Chitry

Chablis is looking more expensive by the day even in France due to two really low crops, more demand and, well, it is Burgundy. The village of Chitry isn’t far away but doesn’t yet have the momentum and thank goodness with producers like this. Still one for the workers. From the cheese and wine oracle of Julhès in Paris’ tenth, this pure clean Chardonnay has a whiff of shells and sea but is really more like a good, cool grown new world version. Concentration and ripeness of honeyed citrus and stone fruit carry well to a firm but even acid cut. Not quite the mellow lactic mouth caress that makes Chablis difficult to stop drinking but the fruit quality makes up for it. Bargain.

13% alcohol. Cork. 12 euros.

92 points.

2017 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis

The back label proudly says Jean-Marc Brocard is a big name in Chablis. He certainly makes delicious Chablis, specious boast notwithstanding. Half a bottle from a Paris  supermarket disappeared leaving drools for more. Relatively rich at first and maybe developing quickly from being shelf bound in a scorcher of a summer, it’s still citrus and yellowy green fruits and that mouthwatering acidity. There’s some seaside Chablis scent just to make sure. Seemed to freshen up in the glass. Shame it was only a half.

12.50% alcohol. Diam. 9 euros a half.

91 points but a bonus mark for being the best sort of Chardy.

2013 Domaine Huber-Verdereau Meursault 1er Cru La Pièce sous le Bois

First and very probably the only 1er Cru white burgundy of the year thanks to a very generous friend. From a producer in Volnay. Opened a bit natural winey yeasty and spiced but sucked up air beautifully to become a self assured, rich yet still fresh Chardy. Full range of honey, toasted nuts, cut apple and autumnal stone fruits, melting butter and golden sunny days. All contained by a deliciously soft mouthwatering acidity that sits right inside the wine and balances the abundance so well. As with Burgundy sometimes the last glass the best. Shame you can’t squeeze a glass bottle.

13% alcohol. Cork. $? dread to think.

95 points