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robr · 02-07-2006, 06:16 PM,

As cheaper chards go you could definitely do much worse. It has a nice refreshing citrusy acidity, with the ususal chardonnay flavors, but with a distinct undertone of honey. Not an unusually complex wine, but very pleasant. Great with sharp white cheddar! About $8, 87 BK.

[This message has been edited by bernkastler (edited 02-07-2006).]

robr · 02-11-2006, 09:00 AM,

I hate beating a dead horse as much as you guys, but this keeps coming back to me: here is an inexpensive wine that I drank over a 3 day period, and it never lost its flavor, it was wonderful to the end, and yet, it is one that gets "dissed".

My point is, it seems that so many inexpensive chards are very very good, but are overlooked. I know I already asked this question, and if no one answers me, I promise this will be the very last time.

Why are there so many really good inexpensive chardonnays? Is it just me, I mean, is my palate just different from most people's so that I enjoy the taste of chardonnay almost without discretion?

Oh, and btw, I am changing the number for this one to 90.

[This message has been edited by bernkastler (edited 02-11-2006).]

[This message has been edited by bernkastler (edited 02-11-2006).]

Drew · 02-11-2006, 09:15 AM,

If people didn't like Chardonnay, didn't drink Chardonnay, they wouldn't make Chardonnay. No excuses needed for liking the stuff, heck even WW has a small area in his cellar devoted to this SW...CB demands it! [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

Drew

Innkeeper · 02-11-2006, 09:17 AM,

To me, most inexpensive New World Chardonnay tastes more like a tree than a fruit. This is because it is very common in these regions (West Coast America, Oz, South America, South Africa, Southern France) to added oak chips or toasted oak sawdust to the wine during or after fermentation. Yuk! There are occasional exceptions, mostly from Oz, but some in Ca Ca land too. Did this one reek of oak too?

In the meantime, I'll stick with inexpensive Maconnaise.

robr · 02-11-2006, 09:28 AM,

It had a very slight touch of oak, which i don't mind, but you might find objectionable. Do me a personal favor, this only costs about 8 dollars a bottle. Try it and let me know what you think. If you really hate it, you're only out a few bucks. Meanwhile, let me know more about the "Maconnaise" (I assume Macon Blanc Villages and Pouilly-Fuisse) and I will try it. What producers are the best? Is it very expensive?

[This message has been edited by bernkastler (edited 02-11-2006).]

Innkeeper · 02-11-2006, 10:13 AM,

http://www.wines.com/ubb2/Forum23/HTML/000293.html

robr · 02-11-2006, 10:56 AM,

Thanks Carl, I will try and find some of this 2003 Cave de Lugny. I think I know a couple of shops in my area that might have it. I'm always excited to try something new -- never had a really good French white, just some bland Mouton Cadet a few years ago.

Innkeeper · 02-11-2006, 11:21 AM,

Just be careful. There is another one that sounds just like, and is usually placed right next to it; that costs a couple of bucks more and is not as good. Be sure it is the "Les Charmes."

robr · 02-11-2006, 07:19 PM,

Went to my favorite pusher, he didn't have it. So, I bought another couple on his rec, one he called "Verget", 2003 St. Veran. Really good! I like this one a lot. No wood at all, very nice fruit, very balanced, about $20. Alc 13%.

The other is a 2003 Macon Villages from Bouchard Aine and Files, about $10.

I will still look for your rec too, but until I find it, I wanted to try these.

Kcwhippet · 02-11-2006, 09:50 PM,

Verget is a negociant (owned By Jean Guffen, I believe) who makes a range of very nice whites. Haven't had one in about two years, but the St. Veran has always been one of my faves from Verget.

robr · 02-12-2006, 01:47 PM,

I am looking forward to trying more white burgundies, a type I have been over looking. My local grocer only carries Louis Jadot, which I assume is just an average mass produced wine, but I will try it too. I need to get a handle on what's good and what's not from this area.

I ahve heard that most Pouilly-Fuisses are over-rated and a bit over priced.

[This message has been edited by bernkastler (edited 02-12-2006).]

Innkeeper · 02-12-2006, 03:05 PM,

You heard right. And they sometimes add some oak to them. Stick with St Veran and below and you will be happy. Incidentally, Georges Duboeuf makes a nice one (St Veran) that sells for around ten bucks.

VouvrayHead · 02-12-2006, 05:12 PM,

My two cents: I agree entirely with Innskeeper.
I've tasted the Rex Goliath multiple times... it just tastes sorta undefined and the wood tastes more like a cover-up than an accent. I'm picky about Chards in general. The ones that I like I adore, but most of them I find nearly undrinkable.
I DO like Les Charmes lots, though. Much more crisp and fruity than Rex Goliath and ilk. I also like Saint Veran pretty well, and Verget. Something else I like if I'm the mood for that sorta white and don't have a lot of $ is Can Feixes Seleccio Blanco Penedes. A Spanish white around $12. Tastes like a baby Chablis. Apples, minerals, a wee touch of something floral in there... Have no idea what grapes are in it [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img] Give it a run if you see it. Disctinctive tall, thin green bottle.

[This message has been edited by VouvrayHead (edited 02-12-2006).]

robr · 02-12-2006, 06:12 PM,

Vouv,

My problem I think is that I just like chardonnay in all its forms. I'm drinking the rest of the Saint Veran right now and I really like it, but I can't say I like it a lot more than I like the Rex Goliath, but I do notice it has more fruit in it.

I think it will take me a long time before I settle on a specific style of chard that I like more than others, or am able to say, as you did, that the wood is there to cover up the shortcomings. It's probably inexperience more than anything else that I have to overcome. I don't like excessive wood in cabernet sauvignon, but in chardonnay it does something different for me. I like it with, but I also like it without.

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