CWD: A Chardonnay only a Disorderist could love

R

russell briggs

Russell Briggs
Not quite the same ring as "Therapy patient", but whatever.

2005 Domaine Macle Cotes du Jura

Hey now! Sour, lambic, oxidative, 100% Chardonnay in this vintage (or so I'm told by the retailer, who knows it usually has a wallop of Savagnin)...what's not to like? Seriously, this is great stuff, saved from heaviness by some galloping acidity. One of those wines that appear to need 20 years to resolve, or might just be at peak when everything is as spiky as it is now. Grilled nuts, manzanilla sherry, pine resin, sour cheese, and a sneaky, brilliantly long finish that makes every initial protestation go away. Lovely wine, pretty expensive down in the Antipodes but a treat to taste. Need I say not for the oxidation-averse?
 
The 2004, which I think had Savagnin in the mix, was one of the most interesting wines I had last year. Sounds like this version is just as compelling.
 
Since when are oxidized wines automatically "bad"? This whole premox thing is getting out of hand. No, the wines don't taste like fresh young fruitbombs but they're really interesting, even if they're kinda dark in color and aren't aromatically effusive and bursting in flavor. I guess the days are gone where younger collectors got to sit around the table with the old geezers who'd have a sip, peer at the golden glass and state "yep, it's s'posed to taste that way" and the newbies would develop a taste for mature wine. It's kinda like your first sip of grappa or Irouleguy or young Ch Chalon. You've gotta be acclimated to the experience, and if you're just going to the wine shop and buying a bottle to "see what it tastes like", well, that give you "data points" but doesn't necessarily put the wine into any context. I say we convince the major wine shops that they should hire an old geezer or two to sit around the shop (at least on the weekends) and shed some light on wines that aren't all squeaky-clean and mother-in-law friendly.

Russell, it's interesting that this wine made it to NZ instead of a Rombauer chardonnay or something. Or maybe you can get that too?

originally posted by SteveTimko:
Jura.

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"Dale Carnegie" anyone?

-Eden (practiced at wining friends)
 
I like the oxidized flavors in white Rhones and some Provence whites. One of my top three wines of all time was a 1985 Chave Hermitage blanc a friend brought to Hospice du Rhone a few years ago. But it's not all it brings to the flavors. The few Juras I've tried -- and it's only been a few, so I can't speak for the whole region -- it seems the oxidized flavors overwhelm the wine. It's distinctive and if it's what floats your boat, fine.
 
The few Juras I've tried -- and it's only been a few, so I can't speak for the whole region -- it seems the oxidized flavors overwhelm the wine.
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There are more and more white wines from the Jura that don't have many oxidized notes. You may like them as they are often quite fresh and fun.
 
The oxidation was a top note, and a dominant one, but it was what supported it underneath and came to fore in the finish, that made you want to come back for another sip. That panoply of flavours changed as the wine opened up, so that each taste differed...as if there was something seething underneath the cap of flor, or whatever accounts for the oxidation. There's a lot more going on in this type of oxidized wine than in some of the older Spanish whites I've had (which I liked, too, but in a less cerebral way).

Eden, the only CA Chards I've seen here are Au Bon Climat, imported by one shop owner who met Jim and fell in like with him. But this is the second Jura producer I've found - had a 2000 Domaine des Vignerons Vin Jaune a couple weeks ago, which was good but doesn't hold a candle to the Macle - so go figure.

Wish I could get real geuze lambic here, though!
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
I like the oxidized flavors in white Rhones and some Provence whites. One of my top three wines of all time was a 1985 Chave Hermitage blanc a friend brought to Hospice du Rhone a few years ago. But it's not all it brings to the flavors. The few Juras I've tried -- and it's only been a few, so I can't speak for the whole region -- it seems the oxidized flavors overwhelm the wine. It's distinctive and if it's what floats your boat, fine.
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It does seem to be a love-it-or-hate-it phenomenon. I know a bunch of people who like most of the same wines I do but cannot stand vin jaune. Their loss. I think it's breathtakingly complex and unique. Even if you don't like oxidative Jura whites in general, I think the Macle version of the Ctes du Jura is worth trying.
 
Alain Junguenet brought d'Arlay to the Boston Wine Expo, a big event aimed directly at mass-market consumers (certainly not wine geeks), two years in a row, though not last year. (Are they still working together?) To my, their, and everyone's surprise, the wines -- and not just the sweet/fortified stuff -- were very well-received by said masses. Make of that what you will.
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
Jura.

sick006rl8.gif
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Hey Steve, what are you, like seven. You're too young to post here. Haven't you read the FAQ? I thought you had to certify you'd read and accepted them before you are allowed to opine on this site. Kind of like a Microsoft contract.
 
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