What's Going On in the World of French Wines

I’m working on a post on Bordeaux for later this week, but I had a really interesting wine last night and so I wanted to share it with everyone on the blog. A few months ago, I was in a wine store in my area when I spotted an interesting looking bottle of wine. The first thing that caught my eye was the label – it was one of those labels that grabs your attention – not because it is showy or there’s a cute animal, but because it was, well, so very pretty. Intrigued, I picked it up and was even more interested to see that it was made with organically grown grapes and that, best of all, it was priced at $9.99. So, naturally, I had to buy it!
So what’s funny about this is that the Les Chemins de Bassac Isa Rouge has been sitting in my wine fridge in my kitchen untouched since that impulse purchase. Every time I’ve gone to pull out a wine for dinner, I’ve looked at it and then thought to myself, am I really in the mood for this wine? I’m not really sure what made me hesitate to open the Isa – I think I was so excited to find it that I was worried that drinking the wine would be a bit of a let-down…amazing how sometimes you can be your own worst enemy!
Well, last night I made spaghetti and meatballs and when I went to grab a wine to serve with dinner, lo and behold, I discovered that I was out of my stash of everyday Italian wines. Yes, I keep a selection of inexpensive Italian red wines on hand to serve with my red sauce – I find that my tomato sauce tends to go best with either a Valpolicella or a Chianti. But I digress…so, unfortunately (or fortunately) for me, there were no Italian reds to be had. So I went searching through the other shelves to see what I could find. And that’s when I spotted the Isa, which had been languishing on the top shelf of the wine fridge for way too long.
What the heck, I thought – why not open it? I’ll admit it, I didn’t have high expectations – not only because of the potential problem of pairing it with my red sauce, but also because I had stupidly convinced myself that something that pretty, that reasonably priced and made with organically grown grapes wasn’t going to be all that tasty – it seemed just too good to be true. Well, silly me. The Isa was lovely, with soft earthy black fruits, notes of spicy plums and hints of ripe cherries. The tannins were fairly soft and the acidity and alcohol were balanced, but somehow the wine went very nicely with the sauce. Perhaps it was the addition of the meatballs to the sauce, but the combination was really enjoyable, and the wine that was left in my glass was equally delicious with my dessert of chocolate chip cookies.

The Les Chemins de Bassac Isa Rouge is a Vin de Pays des Côtes de Thongue, which is located in the Languedoc, in the South of France. The wine is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir and the grapes are all farmed organically. If you would like more information about the wine, I recommend checking the estate’s website.
So what did I learn tonight? Well, first off, it was a great reminder that I need to take my own advice when I spot something interesting – I need to not hesitate to open the wine once I get it home! I foolishly made some assumptions about the wine (the label’s too pretty and the wine’s too reasonably priced for it to be really good) that were definitely without merit. And this was a great reminder that there are wines made with organically grown grapes that can be found for under $10. So for all those people who say you have to pay extra for grapes grown without synthetic chemicals, the Isa is a terrific example of the value wines that are available these days. Finally, it was definitely a treat to discover a delicious wine that stood up to my red sauce – and I bet it would be great with a whole bunch of other dishes too!

Very few grapes have dominated the wine industry like the white grape known as Chardonnay. Almost no other grape seems to have the same name recognition or awareness. Many consider Chardonnay to be the “King” of the grape world, although in recent years there has been a movement afoot to challenge its global domination – you will find some wine lovers who live by the “ABC” code: anything but Chardonnay. Despite issues of over-planting and the fact that there is a lot of inferior Chardonnay out there on the market, Chardonnay remains a grape that we shouldn’t hesitate to put on a pedestal.

Chardonnay’s most famous home is in Burgundy, where it is the grape that gives us both the steely, mineral, green apply wines made in Chablis, as well as the buttery, rich, full-bodied wines of Meursault. While Chardonnay has proved itself to be a fairly easy grape to grow, it thrives in cooler climates. This is one reason why it does well not only in Burgundy, but in Champagne as well. Chardonnay is one of the most popular white grapes in France and it can be found in the Savoie, the Jura, the Loire and the Languedoc, to name just a few. Chardonnay can also be found all over the world – most notably in California, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Italy (but the list is much longer).

Characteristics of Chardonnay can run the gamut – few other grapes are as versatile and also as responsive to a winemaker’s skills. The color of Chardonnay wines can range from a pale, greenish yellow to deep gold. The color will vary depending on the region and climate, with cooler areas producing wines with less pigmentation and warmer spots producing wines with deeper colors. Another influencing factor is whether or not the wine has been aged in oak barrels. Aging Chardonnay in small oak barrels will produce a wine that is a bit darker when compared to a Chardonnay that has been kept in a stainless steel tank.

Many people think that Chardonnay can only smell like butter or toast, but in reality, the aromatic profile of Chardonnay is very diverse and interesting. Notes of cucumbers, wet stones, green apples, grapefruits, lemons, limes, melons, pears, quince, figs, and golden apples can be found in addition to the common descriptors of vanilla, toast, butterscotch, honey and nuts. Like the color, the nose of a Chardonnay will depend on where the grapes were grown and how the wine was made. Unoaked Chardonnay from a cool climate will tend to have more citrus and green apple notes, while an oaked Chardonnay from a warmer climate will show off a more vanilla, toasty, golden apple profile.

While many consumers think of Chardonnay as having the strange ability to taste like buttered popcorn, this is not the only palate profile for this grape. Chardonnay can range from medium to full-bodied with an alcohol level that runs from medium/balanced to high. The acidity level for a good quality Chardonnay is typically on the crisper side, but if grown in too warm of a climate, it can seem quite flabby. There are a number of winemaking techniques that can affect the character of a chardonnay. If it is kept on its lees (a nice word to describe the sediment created during the fermentation process), a Chardonnay can taste creamy or rich on the palate. Chardonnays are also frequently put through something called a malolactic fermentation (usually abbreviated as MLF). This is a process where lactic acid bacteria convert malic acid (like the acid found in a green apple) to lactic acid (think of the acid in milk). The conversion of the malic acid to lactic acid can further emphasize the creaminess of a Chardonnay and it is also one factor behind that buttery aroma so common to Chardonnay.

While Chardonnay has developed a bit of a bad rap these last few years, it still remains an incredibly food-friendly and versatile wine (when not too heavily oaked and too high in alcohol). If you are a Chardonnay lover or would like to rediscover food-friendly Chardonnays, take a look through my list. You will find a number of different Chardonnays to suit any palate and pocketbook. There are several wines from Burgundy, but also a few from the South of France, which are typically a bit riper and less-acidic. And don’t forget to drop me a line and let me know if you have a favorite French Chardonnay that you would like me to try! I’m always on the lookout for new wines.