It’s a sold-out event at the Glengarry Victoria Park store for tonights tasting through the ‘Stars of French Chardonnay’. I asked Nick from Glengarry – who has organised this evening – if he’s had any angst over what to choose for the evening. But to be fair he’s done a great job, with a couple of Chablis and then a wine from Champagne; before three stellar white Burgundies rounding out the list.
There is cheese and bread on the table of course, and I’m keen to scan through the line-up. But I have to say I was distracted by the Fine Wine Sale that’s happening in the back room for the next few days. Alongside some stunning glassware, there was a seriously impressive Champagne collection – some of it at a third off the normal price, then a run through modern italians like Bibi Graetz, to (wonderful) obscurities like Vie di Romans. At the far end was a small pile of whisky and in between the wonders of Bordeaux first growths and Grand Cru Burgundy. Like a kid in a Candy Store, just saying.
Back to my seat just in time for the start, and it’s a smart getaway with Domaine Seguinot Bordet Chablis 2022. Now under screwcap, this is a deliciously easy introduction to the famous Chardonnays of Chablis. At village level, it has the seashell character you need to show the region’s typicity; but a generous splash of ripe fruit that takes you into modern styles. There’s lots of citrus and a vanilla mealyness through the palate, before an iodine/flint tone to the finish. I’ll look back on this as a highlight – and a honey for the money.
Up a level is William Fèvre Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru 2022. A major player in Chablis, William Fèvre have enough holdings in the climats to just label it as Montée de Tonnerre with components coming from across the 2.2 hectares. The vineyard’s Kimmeridgian marl soil and moderate slopes, combined with a southwest exposure make it a magnet for the best producers. Raveneau, Domaine Billaud-Simon and Domaine Laroche also have holdings here. Orange peel, grapefruit, greengage and spring flowers on the nose, lead to a tight and concentrated palate. The fruit is sappy, crunchy and crisp. The sense of oak is minimal, and the finish is strong, with a searing acidity persisting for some time.
To Champagne next, and Henri Giraud Ay Blanc Grand Cru 2020. Côteaux Champenois – still Chardonnay wines from the region – are what Champagne was like before the method of making bubbles was invented. So, it is a still Chardonnay wine from a Grand Cru vineyard – and, as Champagne does, it is beautifully presented, with an embossed gold and cream label, and a snazzy wooden box. A rich golden colour, with a little funk on the perfume – it is quite ‘woody’ with a smack of toasty oak – they use a distinctive Argonnes oak that also gives a signature in their Champagne. Spicy and savoury, showing chestnut, green apple and sherbert lollies flavours. Characterful and serious!
The next three wines take me to a happy place – Burgundy. Whilst prices have sky-rocketted in the last decade, there is something about white Burgundy that is quite unique – and only the very best of New Zealand producers tend to come close to the quality. Domaine Michel Gros Fontaine Saint Martin Blanc 2021 comes from a 3.25 ha parcel of 20+ year old vines in a hillside vineyard composed of ‘Pernand marls’. It has a limestone edge to it from the terroir, and is quite tight and concentrated tonight – needing time to relax and evolve in the bottle. Lime, peach and chalk, but it does broaden in the palate and has good weight. One for the future.
Domaine Gros Frere et Soeur Bourgognes Hautes Cotes de Nuits Blanc 2021 is a much more immediate wine. Benefitting from their policy of hanging the grapes out for extending ripening, there is a rich golden hue to the colour, and a nutty, peach and toffee note on the bouquet. A touch of botrytis perhaps – there is so much unctuous fruit here. The finish does tighten, and end on a pithy dryness – as it should. Fabulous drinking here, and at $60 on the night, quite good value too.
Maison Leroy wines are not something you get to taste every day. Maison Leroy Bourgogne Blanc 2018 may be their ‘basic’ Bourgogne level wine, but obviously benefits from their famous obsession with quality. In anyone else’s hands, this is Grand Cru quality. A lovely delicacy at first, with nougat, citrus and spring florals, then deepening to tropical fruits and an oatmeal, creamy texture. It is surprisingly simple wine – elegance with an underlying power. Quite fine, even lacy, in the palate – the detail showing the finesse. At $649 ($449 tonight) a bottle, it is beyond most people’s reach. We’re lucky to taste it tonight.
Another banger of a tasting from Glengarry. They’re really back on form – I’m looking forward to the next Supper Club at the end of the month on Jervois Road, and I hear rumours that the next set of tastings might include some port and even a ‘Natural Wine Fest’. I’m in!
