Supple for a 2011, but showing good underlying acidity, this southern Burgundian Chardonnay is all about fruit and focus, not oak. It’s taut and fresh with a whiff of orange zest, and flavours of fennel, white peach and pear.
White Varietal: Chardonnay
2007 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume, Vignoble de Vaulorent, Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume, Burgundy
( £29, 13%, The Wine Society )2007 was a vintage that was overlooked in Burgundy, both for reds and whites, which is a shame as they are drinking really well now. This has a delicious combination of honeyed development with bracing acidity to pull the wine back into line. Taut and chalky, with impressive palate length.
2009 Verget Saint Véran Grand Elevage, Mâconnais, Burgundy
( £17, 13%, Oddbins )White Burgundies from the 2009 vintage don’t lack opulence, but the best ones have freshness and bite, too. This is certainly on the ripe and honeyed side, but it has enough freshness for balance, with notes of vanilla and nutmeg spice, pear and citrus fruit and an appealingly honeyed texture.
2010 Marc Colin & Fils, En Créot, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru, Burgundy
( £24, 13.5%, The Wine Society )If you’re on the hunt for comparative bargains in th Côte de Beaune, Marc Colin in Saint Aubin should be at the top of your list. This is everything I love about 2012 white Burgundies: focused, yet generous, with citrus rind acidity, a touch of oatmeal, subtle oak and a core of stony, chalky fruit. Superb white Burgundy at a very affordable price.
Everyday value?
by Matt Walls
Lined up against the wall in my hallway, they stood quietly like forlorn commuters queuing for a bus. These were not bottles to make a taster salivate. Why didn’t I...
2011 The Co-operative Chablis, Chablis, Burgundy
( £9.99, 12.5%, The Co-operative )2011 was a slightly tricky vintage in Chablis, so hats off to the Co-op for finding a wine that delivers under £10. It’s a fairly soft, forward style, but there’s enough steeliness to stop it cloying. It’s fresh and appealing with no oak and supple pear and spice on the palate.
2010 Greywacke Chardonnay, Marlborough
( £25.99, 14.5%, Swig )When he was at Cloudy Bay (and that was for over 20 years) Kevin Judd was better known for his Sauvignon Blancs thatn his Chardonnays, but the latter were sometimes even more exciting. This superb effort from the top notch 2010 vintages deserves a place among the country’s best interpretations of the grape. It’s smoky and toasty, with flavours of citrus and hazelnuts and a long, minerally finish that wouldn’t look out of place in Puligny-Montrachet.
2011 Bird on Wire Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria
( £35-£38, 13%, Naked Wines )The whites were much more impressive than the red from this Yarra Valley estate in 2011. This cool climate Aussie Chardonnay is deliberately made in a fairly wild, funky style and it works: savoury and complex, with subtle oak and notes of oatmeal, honey and lemon zest. Lovely.
2010 Hill-Smith Estate Chardonnay, Eden Valley, South Australia
( £11.99, 13.5%, Negociants )This doesn’t have a stockist in the UK yet, but it surely won’t be long before it does. It’s more immediate than the subtler FDW Chardonnay from the same Yalumba stable, but it’s still a very tasty modern Chardonnay with notes of citrus and honeydew melon, subtle oak and a bright, lemony finish.
2009 Yalumba Chardonnay FDW, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
( £17.99, 13.5%, Noel Young Wines, Slurp, Winedirect )Typical (and gratifyingly so) of the top end Chardonnays emerging from Australia’s best cool climate areas at the moment, this is all about structure and acidity rather than easy, up front fruit flavours. Notes of lemongrass, vanilla and citrus fruit are nicely intertwined on the palate, wrapped in a creamy, lees-derived texture.
NV Franck Bonville Grand Cru Champagne, Champagne
( £39, 12.5%, Marks & Spencer )OK, this costs nearly £40, but so do plenty of Champagnes that aren’t anything like as good as this Blanc de Blancs from growers, Herny and Ludovic Beaufort. The wine tastes as good as it looks, with masses of rich, nutty, bready flavours, a lowish dosage and 20% reserve wines to add extra concentration and weight. This is what I’ll be drinking as we open the pressies on Christmas morning.
Ten things you need to know about the 2011 Burgundy vintage
by Tim Atkin
My full report on the very enjoyable 2011 vintage in Burgundy will be published in January 2013, once I have tasted another 1000+ plus samples in London, but these are...