Chablis vs. Côte de Beaune

Everyone has a favourite taste when it comes to wine.  Yours might be a semi-sweet Riesling, a crisp Pinot Grigio, or maybe even a jammy California Cab, but for me, my preference is for the white wines of Burgundy.  I truly believe that the longer one spends sampling fine wine, the fonder they become of this traditional region for its uniqueness of style and taste. 

Contrary to popular belief, white Burgundy is not always a product of the Chardonnay grape; there is indeed a tremendous amount of low-end white plonk crafted from the Aligoté variety as well. For our tasting today however, we compare the difference in style between high-end wine from Chablis and the Côte de Beaune, both which must represent Chardonnay without exception.

There are so many strong opinions when you ask people about Chardonnay:  Some prefer the aggressively oaked wines of the new frontier while others enjoy the soft wood flavours and tradition of the old. There is also a strong camp that does not favour oak influence whatsoever, seeking out instead, a wine that reflects a greater degree of minerality and/or a fruit forward style.

Today, I’ve asked the North of 9 tasting group to determine their own preference by sampling two unoaked Chardonnays from Chablis and two barrel aged wines from the Côte de Beaune.  As a comparison, we’ll also include an oaked example from the great 2007 vintage right here in Ontario.  Let’s see what the group thinks…

The wines are listed below in order of sampling:

2008 Domaine Bernard Defaix, Chablis 1^er cru, Côte de Lechet

2007 Remoissenet Père & Fils, Meursault

2007 Stratus, Chardonnay

2000 Louis Michel & Fils, Chablis 1^er cru, Montmain

2005 Domaine Roux Père & Fils, Chassagne-Montrachet 1^er cru, les Macherelles

The wines…

2008 Domaine Bernard Defaix, Chablis 1^er cru, Côte de Lechet

Our first wine of the day added a citrus infused start to the tasting.  There is no mistaking this one as unoaked; perhaps a bit aggressive initially but it did soften with some time in the glass.

2007 Remoissenet Père & Fils, Meursault

This is textbook Meursault and an absolute pleasure to drink.  As the afternoon continued, this wine became richer and increasingly more full bodied to the point where I’d almost say that it was overpowering.  Fantastic though - if you like buttery chardonnay.

2007 Stratus, Chardonnay

A fascinating aroma of floral scented soap caught me off guard with this Ontario Chardonnay.  Stratus uses 100% Burgundy oak for the production of this wine and while initially the oak influence was not prominent, after an hour or so it came on strong displaying characteristics similar to that of the ’07 Meursault.  A touch of heat on the finish reflects the high degree of alcohol in this wine but kudos to Stratus for their solid and highly unique Côte de Niagara!

2000 Louis Michel & Fils, Chablis 1^er cru, Montmain

Typically, white Burgundy will last 7-10 years in the cellar as it gains complexity along the way.  It would appear though that we have just missed the peak with this premier cru example; the spark is still there but unfortunately the flame has faded.  When tasted alongside the breaded seabass appetizer, the wine seemed to reenergize and suddenly hints of apples and white fruit added to the tasting experience.       

2005 Domaine Roux Père & Fils, Chassagne-Montrachet 1^er cru, les Macherelles

Whoah! I’m not sure, I might have played this one up to the point were it had to taste good but wow, what a fantastic wine.  Village level Chassagne-Montrachet is always good but to sample a premier cru is certainly special.  There is a balance in this wine and a common ground; it is not as oak influenced as the Meursault, but is much softer than the Chablis offering greater complexity on the palate and perfect amount of fruit, acidity and hints of spice on the finish.  They say nothing can compare to the great wines of Le Montrachet, the Grand Cru vineyard across the road from les Macherelles.  But if it is indeed better than this example, then I fully understand why people pay such an incredible price to own a bottle.  Wow!  

The group tasted all five wines and ranked them in order of personal preference.  The top three are listed below:

1.  2005 Dmn Roux, Chassagne-Montrachet 1^er cru, les Macherelles

2.  2007 Remoissenet, Meursault

3.  2007 Stratus, Chardonnay

I’m not at all surprised by the outcome today; the oaked samples of the Côte de Beaune were drinking beautifully while the crisper wines of Chablis, though still very good did not display the same level of finesse. 

If I can give you a piece of advice on white Burgundy, it would be to know your producer before buying the wine; do a little research on the vineyard and domaine before you commit and secondly, don’t over-chill high-end Chardonnay no matter where it is from, it mutes the aroma and masks the taste of what is undoubtedly the greatest of all white wines.

I would like to thank our members: Ann/Ed, Stephen/Krista, and Jim for their very generous contributions to this tasting session.

Next month we sabre bubbly on the patio… I’m off to find my sword right now!

Cheers!

Tyler