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Chardonnay - White Burgundy vs the Rest of the World

Mike's House

Tasted June 10, 2018 by galewskj with 196 views

Introduction

The rest of the world won, probably because people brought better wines from the rest of the world than from White Burgundy.

Flight 1 (1 note)

White - Sparkling
2013 Mumm Napa Blanc de Blancs Devaux Ranch USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
90 points
This wine had bracing acidity along with some yeasty toast. The acid dominates in a friendly way.

Flight 2 (4 notes)

White
2013 Château Philippe-le-Hardi Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Clos Philippe-Le-Hardi France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
83 points
Drank a small pour and then revisited the bottle after about 3 hours. This wine was lean and simple. It was not unpleasant, but did not have a lot of interest to offer.
White
2014 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
90 points
For white burgundy, this had a lot of acidity and minerality. I found this to be enjoyable, but in a perfect world it would have more fruit. I'd like to see this calm down in about 3 years to see what has happened to it.
White
2013 Domaine du Chateau de Meursault Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
90 points
Drank a small pour at a tasting. There was nice butter and richness to this. There was some weight, but not a whole lot. There was enough fruit to keep it interesting and plenty of minerality. This seemed slightly more mineral-driven than my idea of Meursault, yet it did not taste like Chablis either. I enjoyed this today and would like to try it in 3-4 years.
White
2014 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Blanc France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
91 points
Drank a small glass at a tasting. There is enough golden fruit here, and a bit of acidity. This is a well-structured chardonnay, but it doesn't deliver anything of great interest. Frankly, it's right where I would think this wine is. Absolutely nothing wrong with this, but you are paying a bit for the name. Try again in 2020.

Side note - every Leroy I've ever opened or seen opened had mold on the top of the cork. What's up with that?
1 person found this helpful Comments (1)

Flight 3 (5 notes)

White
2012 Kumeu River Chardonnay Estate New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Kumeu
90 points
This wine was very middle of the road stylistically. It was elegant, had some round fruit and a bit of oak, but not too much of either. There is good balance here.
1 person found this helpful Comment
White
2012 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
92 points
I had this wine 3 years ago, and this bottle was 3 points better. Correlation? There is a fair amount of matchstick and sulfur on the nose, and even a bit on the palate. But the palate is dominated by golden fruit with some minerality. There is good balance here. This was the most interesting wine at the tasting.
White
2013 Evening Land Vineyards Chardonnay Summum Seven Springs Vineyard USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
93 points
Rich, ripe, buttery and round, but there is not a lot of oak. The oak here is very well-integrated - it is present but does not dominate at all. I'm surprised that this wine sees 100% new oak for a year, as it does not taste like that.
1 person found this helpful Comment
White
2013 Kistler Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
93 points
Rich and buttery, but not crazy big. There is an elegance and a richness to this wine. It was well-received at a tasting.
4 people found this helpful Comment
White
2014 SIXTO Chardonnay Uncovered USA, Washington
89 points
At this stage, the oak dominates this wine. Hold. (or use less oak)
1 person found this helpful Comments (2)

Flight 4 (1 note)

Red
2012 Domaine Duclaux (Famille Quiot) Châteauneuf-du-Pape France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
84 points
This wine did not show well after a chardonnay tasting. There was significant anise along with some heat on the finish. It did not seem flawed. I could tease out some of the garrigue, earth and minerality that I've enjoyed in other bottles, but they were quite subdued. It could have been what we were drinking before this (Kistler Hudson, Evening Land Summum), or it could be a bad bottle, or bad time in this wines evolution.
1 person found this helpful Comments (1)
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