From the commune of Chassagne. They are looking for something accessible – not too complicated. No new oak This is smooth and forward, very nice aromas. Quite full and fruity with a well-judged balance – it makes a good start to your Saturday morning!
Bourgogne Chardonnay
2009 Ravaut Gaston et Pierre Bourgogne Chardonnay
2008 Olivier Antoine et Rachel Bourgogne Chardonnay
Using a ‘Diam’ seal. Medium yellow. The nose has the faintest creamyness which hints to brioche and sherbet, but majors on sweet green-yellow fruit. There is some fat and sweetness but also a stonyness at the core. Well balanced with medium length. This is very good indeed, it doesn’t topple my benchmark 08 bourgogne, but then this is a about 25% cheaper!
2009 Bichot Albert Bourgogne Chardonnay
2008 Labet Pierre Bourgogne Chardonnay
Vieilles Vignes cuvée. Parts from Beaune and Chorey – plenty of vine age too ; >45 years. Medium-pale yellow. The aromas are enticing, sweet and fresh. Nice texture with some richness and good mid-palate intensity. The delivery is not perfectly seamless but the flavour is very good – it’s a very worthy Bourgogne.
2008 Gambal Alex Bourgogne Chardonnay
2006 Gambal Alex Bourgogne Chardonnay
I might have written elsewhere that there’s a ‘deliciousness’ to chardonnay (sorry white burgundy!) that can really perk you up – particularly if you’re tasting at 9:00am! I recall a tasting about 1 year ago at Maison Alex Gambal, before we dived into the 2007s we tasted Alex’s most basic bourgogne blanc – a 2006 – it just hit the spot! For somebody of limited will-power there was absolutely no doubt that ‘on the spot’ I would order a case – not unexpectedly I have cases dotted around the Côte d’Or only waiting for my next visit – well, that and some cash of-course! I finally got around to picking it up (amongst other things) when I visited to taste the 2008s about 2 weeks ago. So, one year-on, how does this wine show? The 2006 vintage has endowed it with a little extra richness but it remains perfectly well balanced. Clearly then, this wine has only one obvious flaw – I bought it to use as a nice summer aperitif, but I’ve already drunk two bottles – it seems unlikely that any will survive to see the official starting date for summer time – clearly it’s not fit for purpose then!
2007 Bouchard Père et Fils Bourgogne Chardonnay
2008 Jadot Louis Bourgogne Chardonnay
This starts with that faintly sherbet note you often find on wines with less punch from the more marginal villages – think St.Romain. There’s a little faint oak note note that helps fill-out the aromas at the bottom and eventually a much more favourable core of yellow fruit. Above average intensity for the label, very fine acidity – then a surprise – a deep and clear extra dimension of flavour in the mid-palate; a little wood-derived vanilla cream; it’s a warm, Côte de Beaune type of flavour that would still – even at this regional level – distinguish the bottle from, for instance Chablis. The finish is a little more mineral and also holds-on reasonably well. This is very successful indeed.