In Global Celebration of Chardonnay

Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning could have been writing about Chardonnay when she penned her famous Sonnet 43: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height.”

On 26 May the whole world will be celebrating that “depth and breadth and height” - because it will be International Chardonnay Day.

And what’s not to celebrate! Chardonnay is the second most planted white wine grape in the world and the fifth most planted grape overall. It is a chameleon among wines. It comes in many flavours and styles and matches so many types of food. 

Party on!

Chardonnay’s endless potential and depth of character has seen it described as “a red wine masquerading as a white.” From the classic, full bodied, oak-aged Chardonnays to the lean, minerality of young, un-oaked styles, to the light and zesty blanc de blancs Champagnes, Chardonnay earns it name as the “king of grapes”.

 

And if that isn’t enough to inspire the gathering of friends to celebrate the joys of Chardonnay on 26 May then consider this. On the flavour and aroma wheel of wine descriptors, its characteristics virtually populate the whole compass. Chardonnay can exhibit fruit flavours such as lemon, apple, pear, pineapple, passionfruit, peach, citrus/lemon zest and fig.  Or floral attributes like honeysuckle, lemon balm, jasmine or apple blossom. It can even be tinged with almond, butterscotch, creamy, oily and waxy notes. And oak-aged Chardonnays can delivery further nuances of vanilla, butter, coconut, baked pie crust, caramelised sugar, crème brûlée and praline

As a French wine importer, DiscoverVin has recently added wines from Burgundy and Champagne to its list of exceptional, independent producers from Bordeaux and South West France.

On International Chardonnay Day it will be party time from the birthplace of Chardonnay in Burgundy, France - to the new world Chardonnays of Australia, New Zealand and the Americas – and everyone is invited.

To celebrate, DiscoverVin is singling out its new Chardonnays from Lupé-Cholet in Burgundy – and the mouth filling Jeeper Grande Reserve blanc de blancs Champagne to be the life of the party.

Domaine Lupé-Cholet Château de Viviers Chablis 2015

 

Domaine Lupé-Cholet Château de Viviers Premier Cru Vaillons Chablis 2014

 

Domaine Lupé-Cholet Comtesse de Lupé BourgogneChardonnay 2014

 

Domaine Lupé-Cholet Mersault 2014

 

Domaine Lupé-Cholet Puligny-Montrachet 2014

Champagne Jeeper Grande Reserve NV

Burgundy Dinner C'est Bon Brisbane May 12

This will be a special dinner at C'est Bon French restaurant in Brisbane. It features some fine wines from Burgundy from Domaine Lupé-Cholet made by one of Burgundy's best wine makers Albert Bichot. These wines are new to Australia. As well as some premier cru Burgundies, there will be a glass of Champagne on arrival and a rare dessert wine to end. 

Burgundy native and restauranteur Celine Damour and her team have devised a menu of classic regional dishes.

If you love good food and wine then this is a night not to be missed!

Booking details here or phone 07 3891 2008

Sexy Red Comes of Age

Style magazine has written about our NEW Beaujolais-Villages...

Read more at discovervin.com.au

Beaujolais is back (but not shoulder pads!)

Some sommeliers are telling us the demand for Beaujolais wine has taken off recently. They are not referring to cheaper Beaujolais nouveau but more quality Beaujolais-Villages and cru Beaujolais (explained below). Beaujolais Nouveau is a very light and fruity style, whereby the Gamay grapes are fermented only for a few months and then bottled and shipped. This is the style popularised in the 80s and like "big hair" and shoulder pads its one fad that may or may not return!

The Beaujolais region is a small region south of Burgundy and north of the Rhone. The vast majority of the production is red wine made from Gamay. A small amount of white and rosé is made also.

According to InterBeaujolais, the region's professional organisation, Beaujolais is now the second biggest wine export region in France after Champagne. (48% of Beaujolais is exported so I think they must mean that this is the second highest proportion of wine exported from a region as surely the larger appellations such as Bordeaux, Burgundy and Provence etc must export bigger volumes/numbers of bottles.)

What is driving this interest in Beaujolais? Is it just a cycle? Is it a desire by consumers to move away from "big" styles of red  to "lighter" styles. Beaujolais is certainly an easy going food-friendly style of wine that matches many foods. It is generally lower in alcohol (12 to 13%) and can be chilled and enjoyed at lunch as well as dinner.

We have started importing a Beaujolais-Villages from Domaine Lupé-Cholet . We recently enjoyed a bottle with a Thai beef salad and it was a perfect match. We served it at the Paris to Provence Melbourne French Festival and the Alliance Française Melbourne Christmas Market.  The most common response was "wow" followed by "can I order some?". It probably exemplifies why there is an emerging interest in  good Beaujolias. It has lovely rich fruit but some nice soft tannins/finish. Certainly very more-ish! Lovely on its own but a great match to many foods including the soft spices in the Thai beef salad. Normally any heat/chilli in food, makes tannin in red wine seem harsh and bitter, but the soft tannins in our Lupé-Cholet enhanced the food. It was a very enjoyable match. For more details on this lovely wine click here.

Thai beef salad and our soon to be released #beaujolais from @bichotwines and #lupecholet #wine #france lovely match

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Oct 8, 2016 at 3:00am PDT

There are 3 broad categories of Beaujolais wine.

1. Beaujolais. This is the least expensive of the 3 levels of wine. A large proportion of the wine is released within months of harvest. This is called "Beaujolais Nouveau." This makes up 50% approximately of the region's production.

2. Beaujolais Villages wine is produced from an area made up of 38 villages in the north of the Beaujolais region and makes up 25% of production in the region. The hilly, granitic terroir here is considered superior to that of the flatter lands in the south of Beaujolais and, as a result, Beaujolais Villages wines are considered to be of a higher quality than those of the straight Beaujolais appellation. 

In fact the terroir of northern Beaujolais is widely considered to be one of the best in the world for growing the Gamay grape variety. Vineyards sit on the sunny south- and southeast-facing slopes, where bright sunshine and dry, warming foehn winds help the grapes to reach optimal ripeness.  These coarse, sandy soils are considered superior to the more clay-dominated soils of southern Beaujolais, as their heat-retaining quality helps the vines to reach optimal ripeness, and they are highly permeable, allowing for excellent drainage in the vineyards.

The Beaujolais Villages appellation accounts for around a quarter of the Beaujolais region's total annual output, most of which is red wine, with just small amounts of white and rosé wine produced. The appellation law has slightly different rules concerning vinification and permitted yields than the more generic Beaujolais appellation, giving rise to a slightly fuller-bodied, more concentrated style of wine. Often a system called carbonic maceration is used whereby whole bunches of grapes are fermented under a layer of carbon dioxide. This excludes oxygen reducing oxygenation and enabling a softly tannic wine (oxygen breaks down tannins into smaller molecules which are "harsher"). 

While most Beaujolais Villages wines are made for immediate consumption, some of the best examples can be cellared for up to five years.

3. Cru Beaujolais

There are 10 Crus of Beaujolais, all in the north and producing only red wine. They make up 25% of Beaujolais production. Each has its own distinct personality, based on ‘terroir’– climate,soils, altitude, aspect and a host of other factors – that are duplicated nowhere else. These wines are much more complex and will develop beautifully over time much like a good Burgundy.

The names of the cru Beaujolais from north to south are

1. Saint-Amour

2. Juliénas 

3. Chénas 

4. Moulin-à-Vent 

5. Fleurie 

6. Chiroubles

7. Morgon

8. Régnié

9. Côte de Brouilly

10. Brouilly

We suspect that we will be hearing more about Beaujolais in 2017.