Chardonnay

Chardonnay - This conjures up all sorts of images particularly for those of us of a certain age…

Let me start with the fact that Chardy is always pronounced in my head with an Essex accent, your head too ?!?  I am thinking maybe there should be a few 'likes' thrown in there to be more authentic!

There was of course the dodgy TV series in 2002 Footballers' Wives - featuring one of the wives aptly named Chardonnay.  This was probably set in Essex ??

In the 90s going into a trendy wine bar (note not a pub and NO not in Essex) and thinking you were sophisticated not ordering a glass of white wine but ‘a glass  of chardonnay’

 Supermarket shelves were filled with Chardonnays from round the world dominating the white wine section. It didn’t take long before we tired of this thick buttery oaky style of wine with tropical fruit flavours and soon it became ‘ABC’ (anything but chardonnay).

We have grown up (some of us) and moved on..many of us now prefer our ‘Savvy-B’ (sauvignon Blanc) its the 'street term' apparently. Though I have to say I am becoming tired of this too, so maybe gradually moving away but where to next?  You know its been over produced when they have a National SB day (I read somewhere there has been one).

Then there is the less known Ice wine, a sweet Canadian Chardonnay.

Of course, Chardonnay is famously used in Champagne often paired with Pinot Noir.

Its easy to forget that until about 30 years ago wines with the ‘C’ word on the label were virtually unheard of.

As our tastes have changed we are more likely now to enjoy an elegant Chablis,  offering a crisper more minerally chardonnay.  Chablis is one of the very few regions to offer mainly an unoaked style of Chardonnay. This proved itself at this months wine gathering out at Jacqui & Nicks.

The two Chablis we tried both came in at second place with 8 out of 10. Both fresher, minerally, lemony with delicate bouquets. Both were from 2012, Jacqui's had the bigger dimple. There are those among us that think the bigger the dimple the better... go check your dimples..No selfies please !

 

We have to thank Great Auntie Jessie & Uncle Chris for Jacqui's Chablis (I forget why..).so Thank You. 

The Chablis brought about a great debate about toasted nuts and blanched nuts is there a difference ?? (Geoff offered some un-printable comment about toasted nuts).

The Chardy we brought, a WolfBlass didn't fair well coz it was like toasty like, sorry can't keep up the Essex ... it was also a bit on the sweeter buttery side with hints of melon. Not undrinkable, I mean at a par_ee (silent 'T') like you'd drink it.. just ask Joey (Sadly some of us know who I am talking about). This scored 7 out of 10.

I have to mention here that Terry suggested we bring our own glasses to cut down on the washing up and allow us to line the wines up and compare them against each other. (I forgot this with the first one, so had to pour another measure) So with three whites lined up I said to Karen ' Look how the colour varies' She replied ' I don't know I haven't tasted them yet' !

We then moved on to the only red of the evening, now you are thinking I thought it was Chardonnay isn't that white ? (So you are a wine buff too!) but no the brief was Chardonnay or Shiraz. This lone red won the night it was the cheapest at £4.79 (Aldi) and tasted really good.  It was well balanced, smooth, warming with peppery hints in a good way. This scored 9 out of 10.

As an extra Steve had brought along a dessert wine L'ilot Haut-Bergeron 2010 it was delicious just like liquid marmalade, Paddington would love it.

Jacqui and I am sure with Nicks help keep us well feed with three courses of lovely homemade food.

We finished off with coffee & teas, luckily not builders tea.. I say this because the drive was full of building materials for the new barn, not for animals but storage, we had been warned to be careful when parking.  We originally thought we might be used as cheap labour for the evening but we needn't have worried Nick had recruited his 76 year old father and friend to move the hardcore from front to back of the house. (Yes really)

Time to stick a cork in it (not init)


Bye S x


PS No idea why & can't get rid of the extra spacing