Good Grape: A Wine Blog Manifesto

August 8 2007

Wine Blogging Wednesday: 2005 Macon-Lugny “Les Charmes” Chardonnay

This edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday has our venerable host, Lenn from Lenndevours, celebrating the 3rd anniversary of his brainchild, a communal exercise in wine blogging goodness and a mass tasting based on theme. This edition implores thematically, “Let’s Get Naked.”

Maybe not “Let’s get Naked” in the literal sense, but in the figurative sense by stripping away the shackles of oaky flavor artifice by drinking un-oaked chardonnay.

Now, one of the values of Wine Blogging Wednesday is it moves you out of your comfort zone and into areas you might not otherwise explore. This edition has that in spades, but I need to make mental note to remind myself that this is, indeed, a good thing. Creatures of habit, we are, I suppose. Last month I drank a tasty white for the “Passionate Spain” theme and this month I’m forced out of California and into France. Gone are the notes of buttered popcorn and tropically oriented pina-pineapple Kool-aid. Nope, bring on an expression of the land manifested in the fruit.

In preparation, I went to a local wine shop and started looking in the Chardonnay aisle—all California wines and nothing that appears to be un-oaked. “Ah, here we go” as I picked up a ‘Silver Un-Oaked Chardonnay.’ $35 bucks. Eh. Hmmm … what else …

Up walks a floor sales guy, “Can I help you?” “Yes, I’m looking for a un-oaked Chardonnay for a tasting, what do you recommend that’s not $35?”

We promptly moved out of the California Chardonnay aisle and into the French aisle. I explained that I preferred a California chard. “Why” he asked looking at me as if I had just grown a third-eye before launching into a riposte that would have made Jess Jackson apologize for his K-J Vintners Reserve.

Next, he asked me when and why I was going to be drinking it. Bonus points for being a good wine guy and asking questions, but this is where it becomes tricky, because I didn’t really want to go to the trouble of explaining that I was going to blog on it, and it’s easier to research a California wine than a French wine, and I like the narrative aspect, etc. I just said, “Well, at our tasting you have to give a brief bit of background on why you chose the wine and I’m more comfortable with California wines.”

Looking down at his name tag, I realized that “Alain” was not the Italian I figured him to be and he was in fact French. I might as well have spit on his mother’s grave. At this point he moved past looking at me like I had a third eye and simply stared right through me. “French it must be,” he said and he pointed me to the Macon-Lugny, which (I’m paraphrasing here), for us ‘Ugly Americans’ even includes the word “chardonnay” on the front. “Chardonnay comes from France, you know” he said

Remind me to ask for more wine recommendations from Alain, because this $11 vino is a steal. What a great wine—steeliness and apple on the nose, crisp, bright acid, nice well-rounded fruit with a medium-long finish.

Thanks and kudos to Lenn and all of the others that have contributed to Wine Blogging Wednesday for the last three years. Much fondness and well wishes for the ongoing online party … and, at least I know which inexpensive Spanish and French whites to bring should an in-person confab ever occur.

Producer: La Cave de Lugny
Wine: Macon-Lugny, “Les Charmes”, Chardonnay
Vintage: 2005
Country: France
Appellation: Burgundy-Macon
Wine Type: White
Varietal: Chardonnay
Price: $10.99

Posted in, Around the Wine Blogosphere. Permalink | Comments (5) | Print |

Comments

On 08/09, (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) wrote:

I loved your review and, perhaps, wine.com did too! Check out their latest price on Macon-Lugny Les Charmes Chardonnay 2005 and it’s $18.29 :(

Google it though and the wine.com link still gives the $10.29 price in the “product” links at the top ‘o the page.

At what price would you consider this wine to be a fair value?

On 08/09, Jeff Lefevere wrote:

Hey Leo,

Thanks for commenting.

I don’t generally buy too many whites over $15 so my experience may be skewed at the lower end, but this is a definitely a nice wine and a value at the sub-$15 price.

Thanks again for reading!

Jeff

On 08/09, Joe wrote:

Hmm, I steered away from the French wines because I thought they were all oaked. Needless to say, I didn’t want a local Alain to question me, so I went for a NZ Chard with “Unoaked” on the label.

On 08/13, Stacy Nelson wrote:

That was such a funny visual - I can just see the salesperson looking right through you.

On 08/13, Stacy Nelson wrote:

Sorry I just had to add that I completely agree with the assessment that un-oaked Chardonnay must be French.

California Chards are known for their BIG oak flavor, much like our Cabernets. I found it interesting that so many in this WBW looked for California first. Oak is minimally used in white Burgundy. Chardonnay as a varietal is so open to flavor infusion that it depends on the winemaker to gently pull out the butter without forcing it out with oak.

That said, I’m glad you went outside your comfort zone. Go for a Premier Cru next visit to this store and be prepared to be blown away by Chardonnay as you’ve never tasted it before!

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