Chardonnay

We have had a few wines over the decades (a few too many I would surmise). 

Chardonnay in New Zealand was my personal kicking off point for enjoying fabulous wine.  In the early 90s NZ had started to hit its straps it would have appeared.   Black label Villa Maria, Kumeu River Chardonnay along with their Mate’s Kumeu River, moving on to  Clos de Ste Anne (Milton estate)  along with the sublime Ararimu Chard and the unequivocal Neudorf Moutere .    Generous with oak, mealy nutty and absolutely huge.   That was the chardonnay back in the day and I loved it.

I recollect a rather drunken evening at Mama Rossa’s in Kohi (a guess? 1992) when Andy and I had this idea of taking some bottles of Kumeu River chardonnay to France (a place we had NEVER been to) and suggesting these ‘French’ tasted it and understood great chardonnay!.   How very naïve of me.    The intentions were good, the grounding and intellectual understanding of wine, history and specifics of flavour - absolutely flawed. 

I love NZ … geez  it’s me and will always be but to think the chardonnays of NZ are the epitome of chardonnay?… sorry guys but no it’s just not.  There lacks a flintiness, a freshness, a balance of vanilla versus the oak….even the great ones -  I might have missed something along the way over the decades but … no it’s not present.  I went off chardonnay altogether until recently and rediscovering it in a different style – the French style.

Pouligney Montrechet specifically.  The fact this village delivers pretty much the best the world can offer in chardonnay, well a teeny bit ridiculous on my part not to have heard of it (but I admit my European wine study focuses on reds apart from the whites of Alsace and Mosel whites due to my peskiness with the chardonnay grape).    No excuses, I have been narrow in my focus for far too long. 

The whites from this very small village are superb.  SUPERB.  Sublime.  SUBLIME.  Unreal.  UNREAL.  Get my drift?  I kind of like them.   I have yet to try the big granddaddy Grand Cru but the entry levels and Premier Crus are stunning.  Not cheap.  The basic whites even buying them from the celler doors start at around 20Euro (expensive for Europe) and escalate rapidly depending on cru and age.  One day I want to get a fully aged Grand Cru….and I shall.  For now feeling like I’ve rediscovered an old friend who has a far more refined and polished finish is comforting and very very delicious.