Chardonnay

Chardonnay is the most popular white wine grape grown throughout the world.  The most prized Chardonnay growing regions are Burgundy, Champagne and California.  The Chardonnays of Burgundy tend to produce dry, elegant wines wit ... Read More »

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is the most popular white wine grape grown throughout the world.  The most prized Chardonnay growing regions are Burgundy, Champagne and California.  The Chardonnays of Burgundy tend to produce dry, elegant wines with vibrant acidity and minerality; little or no oak is imparted into the wine for these "Old World" beauties and allows the essence of the Chardonnay grape to reveal itself.   On the other hand, the New World Chardonnay producers of California (Oregon, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand as well) tend to use new oak.  These wines are often described as being "buttery" given their oak influence.  Some Italian Chardonnays fall somewhere in between Old and New World. They too tend to be quite expressive and retain some of the best qualities of both Old and New World Chardonnays. 

Chardonnay's weight and texture can be very different depending on the terroir and amount of oak used.  Sometimes the oak is new and sometimes, in the case of Burgundy, the oak is used.  If oak casks have been used, they impart less of an influence on the Chardonnay grapes.  These wines tend to have mild oak notes in the wine and can often represent itself as roasted nut flavors.  Yet no matter where Chardonnay is grown, there are some common threads that reveal themselves:  apple, pear, honey, lemon and butterscotch.   

Burgundy

Wine has been made in Burgundy for over 2,000 years.  The monks were responsible for first identifying specific plots of lands as superior to others; this hierarchy later became the basis for the region’s classification system. ... Read More »

Burgundy

Wine has been made in Burgundy for over 2,000 years.  The monks were responsible for first identifying specific plots of lands as superior to others; this hierarchy later became the basis for the region’s classification system.  Today, that system identifies four tiers of wine: regional (ie, Bourgogne), village (ie, Chablis), Premier Cru (ie, Chablis 1er Cru "Vaillon") and Grand Cru (ie, Chablis Grand Cru "Les Clos").  This classification in and of itself does not guarantee that a wine will be better than another, it simply means that it has the potential of being superior given its location. For a wine to take the prestigious designation of a region or parcel on its label, all of the grapes in the bottle must come from just that specific area or plot.

Burgundy and its classification can seem a bit daunting to some.  But, if you can master understanding Burgundy, the rest of the wine world will seem easy.   Basically, all red Burgundies are Pinot Noir and all white Burgundies are Chardonnay with two exceptions:  Beaujolais reds use the Gamay grape and Aligote is the only other white grape permitted.   Burgundy, unlike Bordeaux, is a non-blending region, which means only the aforementioned grapes are permissible.  For this reason, Burgundy tends to attract "purists" who appreciate the single grape and what nature gives the winemaker in any given season.

Some of the finest Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs come from Burgundy.  There are five key districts in Burgundy:  Chablis, Cote d'Or (which is subdivided into Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune), Cote Chalonnaise, Maconnais and Beaujolais.  In Cote de Nuits, villages such as Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanee, and Gevrey-Chambertin are home to some of the finest Pinot Noir made anywhere.  Cote de Beaune is home to some of the finest and well-known Chardonnay villages where seven of the eight Grand Crus are produced.  Villages such as Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault are the mighty three of the Cote de Beaune and produce some of the most complex and elegant Chardonnays on the planet.