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+--- Thread: Chardonnay from France and North Carolina (/thread-5662.html)
- wondersofwine - 06-09-2008
I decided to open a Biltmore Estate American Chardonnay sur lies (no vintage that I could find on the label.)
13% alcohol
Medium straw color with transparency. Best when well chilled.
Pleasant, somewhat neutral flavors--not oaky or overripe. Good summmer sipper with fish or light chicken dishes, Fettucine Alfredo, chicken salad and the like. Grapes likely sourced from outside North Carolina.
2001 Henri Boillot Meursault "Les Perrieres"
Premier Cru 13.5% alcohol
Antique gold color, slight greenish patina
For once I'm picking up the hazelnut aroma often associated with Meursault but which has eluded me in the past. Solid mouth presence, well balanced, with subtle oak framing. Hint of clarified butter but enough acid to make it a crisp, refreshing sipper. Seems low on alcohol despite 13.5% on the label. No premature oxidation. With forty minutes aeration I think this is about as good as Meursault 1er Cru gets (which is very, very good.) I slightly prefer this to the "Les Charmes" coming next. I sipped this with lemon chicken scallopini encrusted with crushed low-fat potato chips.
2002 Henri Boillot Meursault "Les Charmes" 1er Cru 13.5% alcohol $59.99
Color nearly identical to the "Les Perrieres" from the previous vintage. Palate delivers apple, nutmeat and white pepper. The stones are there--I noticed them more on the second evening when the apple notes were less prominent. I found the "charming" wine much stonier than the "stones" wine. Am I weird or should the vineyards swap names? I had this wine with potato/bacon/cheddar soup.