Hook - 12-18-2007 at 12:49 PM
I guess this is where we have been putting wine related posts....
Heres a good one. I get it at the Wine Exchange in Orange, Alta California. 7.99/bottle all the way from France. MIght be elsewhere.
DOMAINE TALMARD 2006 MACON CHARDONNAY
Harmonic convergence here, as Talmard has been an on and off Winex staple for years. We could go into our ‘interest mode’ and regale with stories of
the domaine, hectoliters per hectare, and all kinds of other stuff to try and embellish the story. But in the end, the issue here is very simple.
You’ve got a source that has consistently done a fine job of producing clean, solid Chardonnay from the Macon for a long time. They are surprisingly
reasonable with their prices and we have often shaken our heads at the value these folks deliver in the glass particularly in a world where the dollar
is weak and California wineries are presenting us with ‘no oak’ versions of Chardonnay that cost as much as the ones with oak (interesting math when
you subtract a $700 barrel from the equation). We’ve been struck by the high quality of the ‘band’ from Burgundy through the Rhone and over to
northern Italy in vintage 2006, and it is beautifully demonstrated here. Gorgeous honeyed lemon and pear fruit with notes of florality and striking
lift to the finish, this is an amazing mouthful of Chardonnay. It’s one of the white wine deals of the year
This has been a surprising little go-to for a number of vintages through the years from a father and son team in the town of Uchizy. They seemsto be
able to deliver something clean and tasty any time Mother Nature cooperates and the style is always direct, clean, and quite pure of fruit.
Done in stainless steel, this is a bright wine with crisp, rather gregarious apple and citrus fruit with just a faint touch of stone. So why choose
this one over say, something with a kangaroo on it, in about the same price range? Personality for one as this is from one area made in one cellar as
opposed to some of those Aussie renditions that come from a modest little winery the size of an oil refinery mass producing millions of cases. Terroir
adds a dimension that the big wineries can’t duplicate in the lab. A tasty little Chardonnay.