2006 Jean Bourdy Château-Chalon

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 90.6 points

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  10/16/2023 - Daltond333 wrote:

  Pale gold. Sherry-like flor, saline, mineral, starfruit, yellow apple, preserved lemons, yellow curry, almonds, peanuts, vanilla. Dry, medium plus acidity, body, and alcohol.

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  9/22/2015 - acyso wrote: 90 Points

  This is my first time with a Chateau Chalon, and it may well be a very good stepping stone for me towards the world of dry sherry. There's an intense saline note, with some pineapple and honey aromas as well. The palate definitely sits inbetween the world of fresh chardonnay and sherry (no pox jokes!). Very light and showing a lot of freshness (despite that slight oxidative note). Quite dense and powerful on the palate, with a lovely streak of lemony acidity.

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  9/21/2015 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points

  So cool. Lithe, elegant, precise, but with delicate parafin notes, preserved lemon, light perfume, warm pear, and that very subtle flor, sherry, almost honey note. Lovely but also could use 3-5 years more.

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  11/7/2014 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 88 Points

  Eight decades of Château-Chalon (back to 1934) with Jean-Francois Bourdy: Jean-Francois called this "at least a very great" vintage. The aromas are of a spicy tree, and rich notes... but still, not too much else going on. Very rich and huge palate entry. It's spicy and tart, with rich and luscious texture. It has luscious texture, but really not showing much flavor. Quiet. Soft finish with lovely acid. I like that, but again, just not showing much. Too quiet to offer much interest today.

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  2/4/2014 - forceberry wrote: 97 Points

  Château-Chalon is one of those unique regions where wine is not made unless the vintage is declare by a local appellation body. Even then getting the wine into market is not a small feat, as the wine must be made only from the best, overripe Savagnin grapes (which retain their remarkable acidity even when overripe), aged oxidatively under a veil of yeast in oak barrels for a minimum of 75 months and then get approved by the appellation body. Because of these very stringent rules, Château-Chalon wines are very rare and often quite expensive. They are also tremendously long-lived, with the best examples capable of aging in great condition for well over a century.
  
  Moderately deep yellow color; slightly deeper than the Bourdy Vin Jaune 2006. Very rich, complex and expressive nose with layered aromas of oxidative nuttiness, roasted almonds, some madeirized caramel, bruised apple, honey. Underneath these pronounced aromas shimmer nuances of perfumed florals, lemon peel, Asian spice, smoke, some wild aldehydic tang and a plethora of other, even lighter hints. On the palate the wine is bone-dry and exceedingly complex with more grip and concentration than in Vin Jaune 2006 with very intense, oxidative (bot not oxidized) flavors of nuttiness, almonds, beguiling notes of honeyed sweetness, some saline acetaldehyde tang, crushed seashells, a hint of toasted spices and an undercurrent of bruised green apple. The mouthfeel is quite rich and oily, which is offset by the high, racy acidity, making the wine feel less in acidity than it really is. The dry and tangy finish is at least as rich as the midpalate with a wild, compelling aftertaste that is minutes long. There are notes of Middle Eastern spices, illusions of honeyed sweetness, some crushed and roasted nuts, saline minerality, a hint of bruised green apples and a hint of something like wild yeast funk and complexity. The aftertaste reminds me of Fino Sherry with a dollop of honey - but without the honeyed sweetness.
  
  Even though Bourdy's Vin Jaune is a remarkable wine on its own, it is nothing compared to this beauty! One must also remember, that this wine is just a baby! It is their most recent release and these wines can age well over a century, so even though some uneducated people might think that this wine is fully oxidized and completely dead, opening these now is something akin to infanticide. This is stuff one needs to fill their cellars with, and age them as long as they can. At the ex-cellar price of 37€ (retail price hovering around 100€ or even more), this is by no means inexpensive, but I assure you, it is damn well worth it.

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