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chardonnay
2008 Louis Latour Macon-Lugny (France)
2008 Louis Latour Macon-Lugny 9.99
Latour makes Burgundy affordable. His best is this lush chardonnay from the Macon. Fill your glass with apples, honey, and a whiff of lemon & French style. Perfect for creamy scallops. Here’s what Bob Sprentall, B-21′s Proprietor and Burgundy Buyer says about the 08 Macon Lugny:
“Maison Louis Latour rigorously selects grapes from the well-exposed commune of Lugny which was the only village planted with Chardonnay 30 years ago due to a perfect terroir. Lugny is one of the top vineyards in southern Burgundy’s Mâconnais region, Mâcon-Lugny ” Les Genièvres ” is an outstanding wine. Very round and supple. This has beautiful structure and is perfect to drink now. The 2008 is the best Latour we have tasted in 20 years and that is really saying something about this perennial value.” 90 Points, Bob Sprentall
They know a good thing: 2008 Bogle’s chard is a bargain
2008 Bogle Chardonnay (California) 9.99
Consumers Report is the Wine Spectator for the thrifty snifter, and this month CR went on a hunt for very affordable chardonnays.
After working through big producers and store brands from California, Australia and South America they tapped four in various spots on the fruit to butterscotch spectrum. They found a staple of ours, Bogle, happily in the middle. I’ve always thought of them as quality pioneers in Clarksburg, and the chard one of their best.
According to CR: “Attractive combination of wood, butter and fruit with strong acidity. Nicely balanced, fairly complex.”
If WS is your gospel “Fresh and lively, full-bodied and smooth-textured, with vibrant green apple, melon, ripe pear and honeysuckle, ending with a long, full finish.” 87 Points.
- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler
Testifying on behalf of California chard, 2006 Ch. St. Jean, Robert Young Vineyard
2006 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Robert Young Vineyard $19.99
Stop hating on California chard and sneering at oak barrels like they were hot tibs in a sleazy motel. No one makes a better case than the honorable Robert Young’s place in Alexander Valley with a clone tailor-made for his vineyard more than twenty years ago. Put that fruit in the hands of Chateau St. Jean, the master of Sonoma chardonnay and you get chard at its best.
No little green apples here and not a butterscotch vanilla shake either. This is a golden wine, in color and its fruits, the flavors of ripe pear, pineapple melon and a touch of lemon. And there’s still enough acid and mineral for background.
A great summation of the case for California chardonnay at $19.99.
- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler
Auld lang wine: When California and Claiborne were young…
Came across a yellowed collection of gourmet commentary from the late great Craig Claiborne, one of the pioneer foodies of the New York Times. He started a newsletter in 1972 advising his readers on restaurants, recipes and wine. Our first food and wine blogger?
“Can American wines compare with those of European vineyards?” he asked in December 37 years ago. Yes, and Claiborne allowed there was even California wine in his home. To reject all California wine was “acute snobbism.”
The more intriguing comments I dusted off were more specific:
“Some of the best mass-produced wine in America are Alamden, Christian Brothers, Paul Masson and Inglenook. The wines of smaller production and with a certain elegance are Beaulieu Vineyards, Louis Martini, Wente Brothers, Robert Mondavi and Sonoma Vineyards. Even smaller and excellent are Ridge Vineyards and Hanzell.”
2007 Louis Martini Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon ($11.99) 92WN & 90WS
Not all of those labels are quite so proud now or in the same families, but they got us started – not so very long ago.
And they can still make great wine. The lush 2005 Mondavi Reserve Cab ($79.99) and BV’s 2005 Georges de Latour ($59.99) were among the standout big cabs of this years tasting. A major rebuilding campaign has Wente making news again, the 2006 Pinot Noir from Arroyo Seco is fine affordable Pinot. Louis Martini is especially worth remembering for Cabernet at all price points from $11.99 Sonoma Cab up to the 2005 Mike Martini Select ($79.99) which is a treasure of tradition worth keeping for decades.
Craig was right on the “little guys” too. Hanzell’s mountaintop Sonoma Chardonnays are among the richest and most long-lasting whites we have. The 2004 and 2005 are still winning 90s and are worth salting away until 2015 ($59.99). And what hath Ridge wrought? The years and the brilliance of Paul Draper are excellent in countless ways from my dear Zinfandel to Santra Cruz Chards. Just in the 2005 vintage B-21 has great lively Zins from York Creek, Lytton, Dry Creek and Ponzo, ($24.99 to $29.99).
That Claiborne was on the right track.