Tag Archives: white Burgundy

Expensive wine 161: Garnier et Fils Petit Chablis 2020

Garnier et Fils Petit Chablis label
Garnier et Fils Petit Chablis 2020/$23-30

Believe it or not, less than $30 buys top-notch white Burgundy

One of the biggest ironies in the almost 15 years that I’ve written the blog is that it has almost become more difficult to find expensive wine to review than cheap wine. One would think the problem should be just the opposite.

But this is the wine business, so common sense doesn’t often apply.

Why the contradiction? Shouldn’t it be easier to find a quality $40 wine than a quality $10 wine? Not these days, when $40 doesn’t buy the quality it used to (thanks, premiumization). In addition, since I buy most of the wine I review – and I’m not part of the 1 percent – quality expensive wine is increasingly out of my reach. One Dallas wine shop advertised value red Bordeaux the other day – for $45. Gulp.

Which is a roundabout way of introducing the Garnier et Fils Petit Chablis 2020 ($28, sample, 12%), chardonnay from Chablis in the Burgundy region of France. It’s everything a wine at this price should be, and then some — one of those wines that reminds me why I started doing this and why it can still be enjoyable.

The Garnier is a delightful, thoughtfully crafted and fairly priced white Burgundy in an age where there don’t seem to be any. Look for almost tart lemon fruit, as well as some apple and pear, and that wonderfully almost flinty finish that marks a Chablis.

Highly recommended — chardonnay for those of us who want to taste the wine and not the oak, and to appreciate paying more for a wine that is worth paying more for.

Imported by Martine’s Wines

 

Expensive wine 153: J. Moreau & Fils Chablis 2019

J. Moreau
J. Moreau & Fils Chalbis 2019/$20-$30

The J. Moreau Chablis is yet another example why scores do more harm than good

The Wine Curmudgeon tries desperately not to let his disgust with scores bubble up too often. But the wine business makes that almost impossible.

The most recent example is the J. Moreau & Fils Chablis 2019 ($25, purchased, 13%), a delightful chardonnay from the Chablis region in Burgundy in France. So what score did it get on CellarTracker, the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app?

An 88.

Sigh. Is it any wonder I worry about the future of the wine business?

That’s because 88 points is about what a $12 buttery supermarket chardonnay gets — the kind that’s designed by focus groups and made to ensure that the wine has all the subtlety of a hot buttered popcorn-flavored Pop Tart.

Is this the world’s most stunning Chablis? Nope, but it’s still a fine Chablis at a more than fair price (and especially given the cost of white Burgundy these days). It’s varietally correct, with lemony apple fruit, the minerality that all Chablis should have, and a pleasing roundness in the mouth that is not richness (or buttery popcorn).

So yes, I’d buy this again – just the thing for my traditional Saturday night roast chicken, green noodles, and green salad.

Imported by Boisset America

Expensive wine 139: Michel Sarrazin et Fils Givry Les Grognots 2018

Michel Sarrazin et Fils Quality white Burgundy for less than $40? Meet the Michel Sarrazin et Fils Les Grognots

Regular visitors know that white Burgundy, France’s high-end version of chardonnay, is the Wine Curmudgeon’s guilty pleasure. But I get to drink even less of it these days, what with the Trump wine tariff and continually rising prices for all Burgundy. Which is why I was so excited to see the Michel Sarrazin et Fils Les Grognots.

The Big Guy bought a sale bottle of the Michel Sarrazin et Fils Les Grognots 2018 ($32, purchased, 13%) as a Thanksgiving gift, for which I was most grateful. It was all I had hoped for: top-notch white Burgundy, which includes o ak so delicately used that it’s difficult to describe. You know it’s there, but you don’t worry about where it is.

This is a more fresh and fruit-forward white Burgundy than others. Hence, it’s ready to drink now, but should also improve over the next three or four years, as the fruit moves to the background. Look for lemon zest, almost ripe pear fruit, some white pepper, and quite a stony finish.

Highly recommended; even at its normal price, this is what passes for bargain white Burgundy these days. This is holiday wine, perfect with roast turkey.
Imported by North Berkeley Imports

Mini-reviews 138: German riesling, white Burgundy, godello, Rombauer

rieslingReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month.

• Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler Riesling 2018 ($13, purchased, 10%): This Total Wine private label is a German white that is honeyed and lemony.  It’s simple but enjoyable, and the “medium dry” sweetness doesn’t get in the way. Imported by Saranty Imports

• Sauzet Bourgogne Blanc 2016 ($32, purchased, 12.5%): The Big Guy brought this white Burgundy, from our favorite Burgundy producer, to WC world headquarters for pandemic, socially-distanced, porch sipping. Sadly, thanks to the tariff and premiumization, this is no longer the “affordable” wine it used to be. It’s fine for what it is,  with some green apple and well-constructed oak. But it lacks the Sauzet verve and dash, and especially at this price. Imported by Vineyard Brands

• Virxe de Galir Pagos del Galir 2018 ($18, sample, 13.5%): This Spanish white is made with godello, which the wine geeks compare to chardonnay (same green apple fruit, same mouth feel, though a bit more spice). Hence the problem: You can buy a nice albarino or a Basque Txakolina  for more or less the same price. Imported by Aaron LLC

• Rombauer Sauvignon Blance 2019 ($25, sample, 14.2%): This California white is a terrific example of this style of pricey wine — and it’s the style that Rombauer made famous. It’s a little hot, and features some grassy notes but surprisingly muted citrus fruit. Plus, it has a much fuller mouth feel than other sauvignon blancs. In other words, $10 New Zealand it ain’t.

Photo: “Sunny Afternoon on the Roof” by winestyr is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Mini-reviews 126: White Burgundy, albarino, Estancia, petit verdot

white burgundyReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month.

• Jean-Jacques Vincent Bourgogne Blanc 2017 ($20, purchased, 13%): This is the second time I bought this chardonnay from the Burgundy region of France, which shows that even those of us who do this for a living make mistakes. Bland, boring, and overpriced. Imported by Frederick Wildman & Sons

• Raimat Saira Albarino 2016 ($10, purchased, 12.5%): This Spanish white is cheaply made, watery, and doesn’t much taste like albarino. It apparently exists for no other reason than to cost $10. Imported by Aveniu Brands

• Estancia Sauvignon Blanc 2016 ($8, purchased, 13.5%): Estancia was once a dependable cheap wine producer. Now, it’s just another Big Wine brand. This California white is green and unripe and tastes very little like sauvignon blanc.

• Cameron Hughes ‘Lot 638’ Petit Verdot 2016 ($15, sample, 14.4%): VinePair’s reviewer loved this Washington state red wine, raving about its “concentrated dark-berry fruit, especially blackberry and black currant.” That’s the exact reason I didn’t care for it – too ripe and too overdone, especially given the grapes involved.

Photo: “Lancers” by Rochelle Ramos is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 

Expensive wine 120: Jean et Sébastien Dauvissat Chablis Saint-Pierre 2017

Dauvissat ChablisThe Dauvissat Chablis is chardonnay that shows why that French region makes such terrific white wine

There are very few values left in high-end French wine (to say nothing of not-so-high-end French wine). But you can still find value from Chablis in Burgundy, like the Dauvissat Chablis.

Yes, $27 seems like a lot to pay for value. But the Dauvissat Chablis ($27, purchased, 12%) is the kind of wine that offers more than you expect. Chablis is chardonnay, but chardonnay usually made with little or no oak. Hence, it’s not only much different from New World chardonnay, much of which is dripping with oak, but it’s also much different from other white Burgundies. That means a steely, very mineral quality, with almost no vanilla or toastiness, but a wine that can still be rich and full.

In other words, chardonnay for those of us who appreciate fruit and less winemaking. The Dauvissat Chablis is just that: Fresh and crisp, with lots of tart green apple fruit, lots of that wonderful Chablis minerality, and nary oak anywhere. The wine combines Chablis tradition, so that it’s clean and almost stony, but with more New World-style and less subtle fruit. It’s an impressive combination, and especially at a price that usually buys very ordinary white Burgundy or even less impressive Napa chardonnay.

Highly recommended, and should age for at least a decade. This is just the bottle for anyone who wants a white wine for Mother’s Day that is more than buttery and caramel.

Imported by Rosenthal Wine Merchants

 

Expensive wine 115: Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Premier Cru Montmains 2015

benoit droin chablisThe Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Premier Cru Montmains shows why aging matters in wine, and why we should appreciate it

Perhaps the most important difference between truly great wine and the stuff most of us drink most of the time – and price, sadly, doesn’t much matter here – is that truly great wine ages and changes as it ages. And, like the Benoit Droin Chablis, it usually changes for the better.

The Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Premier Cru Montmains 2015 ($47, purchased, 13%) is chardonnay from the Chablis region of Burgundy in France, which makes it white Burgundy. But unlike most white Burgundy, Chablis isn’t oaked. This difference gives it a character of its own – sort of like the Puligny that is my guilty pleasure, but different enough to be a pleasure all its own.

Which brings us to the aging. The Benoit Droin Chablis is still quite young, and it may take 10 more years before it really tastes like Chablis, with the telltale minerality and limestone and almost steely green fruit. But that’s one of the great joys of Chablis, that you can drink it now and sort of see how that will happen to the wine. That this is almost a $50 wine makes it difficult to buy two, wait a couple of years, and see if you’re right. But one learns to live with that.

Having said that, the wine is delicious even without the aging – certainly worth what it costs, and especially for anyone who appreciates white Burgundy (and if you need a last-minute holiday gift). Look for green apple, minerality, and a certain softness that you usually don’t find in Chablis. Until, of course, the wine ages.

Imported by European Cellars/Eric Solomon