ABC? Look away now.
This is a homage to Chardonnay at it's finest.
Many years ago, when the Australian winemaking industry started making waves in the UK, Chardonnay was a prime export. Over-oaked by adding cheap oak chips to stainless steel vats, or worse, oak essence, the wines sent many running from the grape.
The ABC now drinks anything but Chardonnay because they don't want to risk such poor quality wine again. And they're missing out.
Chardonnay is a classic and noble grape variety. It's the base of many Champagnes. It's home is Burgundy in France. It's here, perhaps not in the village which gave the grape it's name, that it finds it's classic and finest expressions. It also travels well. Now it's one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. And it's a varietal which expresses, more than most, the wine maker's style and the terroir, or climate in which it's grown.
So if you've not tried Chardonnay for a while, it really is worth trying another one.
This is a homage to Chardonnay at it's finest.
Many years ago, when the Australian winemaking industry started making waves in the UK, Chardonnay was a prime export. Over-oaked by adding cheap oak chips to stainless steel vats, or worse, oak essence, the wines sent many running from the grape.
The ABC now drinks anything but Chardonnay because they don't want to risk such poor quality wine again. And they're missing out.
Chardonnay is a classic and noble grape variety. It's the base of many Champagnes. It's home is Burgundy in France. It's here, perhaps not in the village which gave the grape it's name, that it finds it's classic and finest expressions. It also travels well. Now it's one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. And it's a varietal which expresses, more than most, the wine maker's style and the terroir, or climate in which it's grown.
So if you've not tried Chardonnay for a while, it really is worth trying another one.
Macon plays Chablis at The French House, Dean Street, Soho
Even within Burgundy, styles can differ greatly. On Saturday night, at Soho's The French House, a friend and I chose a northern Chablis and a southern Macon. Same grape, both Burgundy, both the same year. And yet, so different.
One steely, green apple, cold and minerally austere; the other rounder of body, and with a touch of cream on the slightly tropical fruit notes.
One steely, green apple, cold and minerally austere; the other rounder of body, and with a touch of cream on the slightly tropical fruit notes.
Catena was paler, with a more buttery golden colour on the Puligny-Montrachet
The real meat of our comparison was inspired by opening a bottle of Catena Chardonnay 2012 on Thursday night. We've sampled this one several times this year, since enjoying a bottle of another vintage in Ecuador. To keep returning to a bottle is unusual at Purple Teeth HQ since we are all about exploration. This one keeps us coming back for more. This time, we noted almost savoury umami notes on top of round, almost candied citrus, with some hints of nectarine, pineapple and subtle vanilla.
Mr Purple Teeth renewed his proclamations of affection. I wondered, how would this compare with his all time favourite Chardonnay Puligny-Montrachet? A plan was born.
The Catena was hastily re-corked and for once, with no Friday night obligations, we decided to open a bottle of Ropiteau Puligny-Montrachet 2008 we'd received as a Christmas gift.
It can be difficult to buy a wine gift for a wine professional. I'm grateful to the friends who get it right!
Mr Purple Teeth renewed his proclamations of affection. I wondered, how would this compare with his all time favourite Chardonnay Puligny-Montrachet? A plan was born.
The Catena was hastily re-corked and for once, with no Friday night obligations, we decided to open a bottle of Ropiteau Puligny-Montrachet 2008 we'd received as a Christmas gift.
It can be difficult to buy a wine gift for a wine professional. I'm grateful to the friends who get it right!
The challenge: what to cook to bring out the best in these fine wines? The Catena is around £13.99 from Waitrose, though I bought mine during the 25% discount event, and the Puligny, at a guess was around £50 from Marks and Spencer. Although not a top class "grand cru", this is still a wine at 3 times the price of the Argentine example. As our Catena probably breaks the budget for many Purple Teeth readers at more than double the UK average price for a bottle of wine, the goal here is not necessarily for you to go buy these wines, but rather to inspire you to make your own comparisons, experimentations, and at the very least, to give Chardonnay another chance.
If you want to read more about what makes Puligny Montrachet so special, there's a lot of background detail here, at Wine-Searcher.com which there's no point in my repeating.
One day, I hope to sample the ultra premium Batard-Montrachet, but for now, I'll dream.
If you want to read more about what makes Puligny Montrachet so special, there's a lot of background detail here, at Wine-Searcher.com which there's no point in my repeating.
One day, I hope to sample the ultra premium Batard-Montrachet, but for now, I'll dream.
Regular readers will know I'm no cook, so I decided to let great ingredients speak for themselves: fresh crab, pure and simple, without butter or mayonnaise; white crusty bread; Jamon Iberica Bellota (an amazing 3 year aged ham from Spain); and cheese. Lots of cheese.
Many people instantly think of red wine with cheese. Not me. My cheese preferences tend to the stinky end of the spectrum, and the acidity in white wines cuts right through this, where the red wine fruit can be dulled, flattened and ultimately become tinny.
Of course, we sampled both wines before adding food. The Catena remained strong. The Puligny was quite different. While the body and acidity were similar, there was a more viscous, silky mouthfeel. Mr Purple Teeth went quiet. Was he disappointed? No. He'd just gone into his happy place. Silently savouring every droplet, before announcing judgement. He remains a fervent fan of the French.
Many people instantly think of red wine with cheese. Not me. My cheese preferences tend to the stinky end of the spectrum, and the acidity in white wines cuts right through this, where the red wine fruit can be dulled, flattened and ultimately become tinny.
Of course, we sampled both wines before adding food. The Catena remained strong. The Puligny was quite different. While the body and acidity were similar, there was a more viscous, silky mouthfeel. Mr Purple Teeth went quiet. Was he disappointed? No. He'd just gone into his happy place. Silently savouring every droplet, before announcing judgement. He remains a fervent fan of the French.
Of course, we sampled both wines before adding food. The Catena remained strong. The Puligny was quite different. While the body and acidity were similar, there was a more viscous, silky mouthfeel. Mr Purple Teeth went quiet. Was he disappointed? No. He'd just gone into his happy place. Silently savouring every droplet, before announcing judgement. He remains a fervent fan of the French.
Although there's smoke and spice on the palate here, the more obvious flavours were dairy based. Creamy, buttery, rich, like an unsalted Charentes butter on a toasted Brioche, there was fruit, but it played second fiddle to these wine-making flavours. Apple, pear, and perhaps some membrillo, this was a sipping wine worthy of considered attention. So much, that I didn't actually take any notes.
The chances of you going out to buy a bottle are slim. So the point of the exercise was to show how different even great Chardonnays can be from each other rather than to provide in depth descriptions.
With the meaty Spanish ham, the Catena Chardonnay jumped to attention. Almost steak-like in intensity, the meat really shone with the savoury notes in the Argentine wine. Fresh, delicate, unadulterated crab, though, put on a song and dance routine with the Puligny. As food pairings go, it's probably one of my favourites of the year so far. Had the crab been tampered with, it might have been a different story, but freshness all the way made this chilly September evening feel more like spring.
When it came to the cheeses, Gorgonzola Piccante (Italy), Cornish Cruncher 3 year aged Cheddar (M&S), cave-aged Gruyere (Swiss), traditional Comté (France) and Burgundian Epoisses, we were not making it easy on any wine. Most came with a rating of 6 or 7 out of 5 on the strength scale. Still, again, they worked. The French and Swiss Cheeses worked best with the Burgundy, while the southern wine fared well with the Cheddar and Gorgonzola, enhancing that umami, savoury character.
In the end, I wouldn't really recommend putting an expensive wine up against Epoisses, but I'd certainly favour a white over a red.
t's hard to capture the character of the evening. We'd intended to sip a side-by-side glass then move on to relaxing with one or other wine, but the fascinating interplay of the different flavours kept us enjoying both wines simultaneously until our Argentine bottle ran out.
If you've never drunk 2 wines side-by-side to compare with each other, or with food, it's worth doing sometime. You'll discover a lot about what works, what doesn't, and you'll gain a deeper understanding of what you love and why. I urge you to make a comparison, whether north and south, inexpensive versus pricey, or oaked versus unoaked, or simply 2 different wines from the same grape and region. It's a great way to see what is really "varietal character" (that which makes the grape identifiable, and wines made from it similar), and to understand the influence of region, soil, climate and wine-making style - or at least see how the wines differ from each other.
Opening your eyes in this way, can give you more confidence to explore in future.
If you'd like to organise a Purple Teeth wine tasting, to be guided through some taste comparisons, get in touch. There's still some availability in the lead up to Christmas and it makes a great event with your team mates for office celebrations, or even a lovely gift.
Otherwise, keep exploring wines at home, and remember to let us know what you're enjoying via Twitter or our Facebook page.
Cheers!
If you've never drunk 2 wines side-by-side to compare with each other, or with food, it's worth doing sometime. You'll discover a lot about what works, what doesn't, and you'll gain a deeper understanding of what you love and why. I urge you to make a comparison, whether north and south, inexpensive versus pricey, or oaked versus unoaked, or simply 2 different wines from the same grape and region. It's a great way to see what is really "varietal character" (that which makes the grape identifiable, and wines made from it similar), and to understand the influence of region, soil, climate and wine-making style - or at least see how the wines differ from each other.
Opening your eyes in this way, can give you more confidence to explore in future.
If you'd like to organise a Purple Teeth wine tasting, to be guided through some taste comparisons, get in touch. There's still some availability in the lead up to Christmas and it makes a great event with your team mates for office celebrations, or even a lovely gift.
Otherwise, keep exploring wines at home, and remember to let us know what you're enjoying via Twitter or our Facebook page.
Cheers!
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