Biltmore Estate Chardonnay Sur Lees

[robr]

My brother in law gave me this. It's not bad. Does anyone know where they get the grapes from?

I don't think they grow Chardonnay grapes in North Carolina (but I could be wrong).

[wondersofwine]

The correct spelling is Sur Lies (French terminology). The bottle label says "American" so the grapes are not from North Carolina--could be from somewhere in California or elsewhere--I don't know.

[robr]

That's what I thought. There is no date on the label either. What does "Sur Lies" mean?

[wondersofwine]

I knew it meant that the juice was left on something but wasn't exactly sure what so found a wine dictionary on wine.com:

Indicates a wine was aged "on the lees" (sediment consisting mainly of dead yeast cells and small grape particles). This process is a normal procedure for fermenting red wines; Burgundian winemakers discovered that it often added complexity to their Chardonnays, and now this process enriches many white wines from around the world.

Note that the French word "lies" is translated to "lees" in English so your spelling was closer to the English. (and both words are pronounced the same with a long 'e' sound.

[robr]

So it means it was left to ferment on the lees. I kind of thought that might be it. Thanks!

It's actually very good, with some progressive layers of flavors, for a wine made in NC.

[This message has been edited by bernkastler (edited 08-16-2005).]

[dananne]

By the by, they do grow Chard in NC. Georgia, too, for that matter. Just not well, IMHO.