Domaine La Fage 2011 Novellum Chard

In the beginning of my wine education, I never had the liking for domestic Chardonnay. Too oaky, no character, no depth. It took some time for me to venture into white Burgundy territory and taste what real Chardonnay is before it gets juiced up on Red Bull and spray tanned. Following the lead of a friend who was more affluent in French wine than I, we drank through several different bottles. You can't begin to understand the concept of terrior until you sip and savor several wines from Europe particularly France and Germany. Having a someone direct you through the maze of wines from France helps tremendously. Pure terrior driven, flavor filled Chardonnay is something to try especially when trying several from different regions of France to see how the soil and climate influence what's in the glass. As with most whites, do not drink them ice cold as you will not taste any of the nuances intended. When I conduct my Wine 101 class, I always throw out French Chard as my first wine every student tries.

"How many people like Chardonnay?" I ask and usually only a handful raise their hands.

"what do you think this is?"

Generally people guess Pinot Grigio or Sauv Blanc. When I unveil that the wine in question is in fact Chardonnay everyone's mouths drop.

French Chards, for me, have layers of minerality, body, crisp acidity, green apple and/or peach notes and that flavor just keeps developing as the bottle gets lower in volume.

So, a few weeks ago I had to track down a bottle of French white for a customer's gift giving basket. The criteria was French, white, under $15, over 90 points, no Muscadet or Vouvrey or Alsace. Ok?? This is what I found, the Domaine La Fage 2011 Novellum Chardonnay. I knew it would be great, why? Again with the wine clues, the importer was Eric Solomon of European imports.

Here's The Wine Advocate's review...

"The outstanding 2011 Novellum competes with some of the finest Macon-Villages wines one can find. It is made from 100% Chardonnay (from 25- to 30-year-old vines), aged three months in a combination of Burgundy barrels (30%) and stainless steel tanks (70%), and, somewhat innovatively, is aged on Viognier lees which gives it a honeysuckle and white peach-scented nose. There is also a salty sea breeze character reminiscent of the crushed oyster shell-like note my colleague David Schildknect often detects in Loire Valley whites. This crisp, fresh, medium-bodied Cotes Catalanes exhibits lots of earthy/terroir characteristics. Readers should think of it as a brisk, zesty, authoritatively flavored Chardonnay from the cool, alluvial soils on the banks of the Aigly River"-WA 7/12

Stainless steel gives that clean zip for me at least while aging it on the Viognier Lees intrigued me. Mrs. Wine Snob and I opened the bottle last night over a thrilling game of Temple Run our son received from Santa. Fresh from my pseudo wine cellar (my basement) the bottle was a little chilly, so we popped it into the fridge for another 10 minutes. Once opened and then into glasses the magic starts to unwind. The color is a slight golden and when you swirl it into the glass you can see a little viscosity on the edge. The nose comes off with that green apple and ocean air. On the palate, the acidity opens your taste buds to the green apple and minerality I like to refer to as "licking a wet stone". The wine does have body and because of aging it on the lees, you pick up a little of that honey suckle of Viognier. The finish is long and lasting. A tremendous value at $12 by leaps and bounds. If you can find another retailer that has this then buy it by the case! We were both in heaven with the quality. Even though I work in the wine biz, my wife is the one who turns into the wine snob/critic when I open bottles. Funny how that works, but it works.

I wish more consumers would get off their high horse and at least try more French Chardonnay. I'm not saying abandon all domestic Chards, I'm just saying expand your palate and see what else there is to offer! How boring a wine world it would be to ONLY drink Kendall Jackson and J. Lohr all the damn time.