It's a Friday night and I am not out wine tasting in New London with the Trifecta. What is wrong with me? Well, perhaps the fact that I just sneezed four times in a row so hard that I may have cracked a rib or two might explain why I am sitting on the proverbial bench tonight. But alas, a cozy couch and reruns of Top Gear are more than enough to keep me entertained tonight. Granted, I would prefer to be out tasting with the ladies.This past week, while vacationing on the Vineyard (God I sound snooty when I say it that way) we performed one of the easiest and most enjoyable wine experiments out there. Comparing oaked and unoaked Chardonnays. Laura and Doug where kind enough to bring out two Chards from my favorite Long Island winery, Channing Daughters. We compared the 2007 Scuttlehole Chardonnay against the 2006 L'Enfant Sauvage Chardonnay.
The Scuttlehole is fermented in stainless steel with no malolactic fermentation. The result is a crisp, acidic wine with similar mouth feel to a Sauvignon Blanc, but with exploding flavors of green apple. In my mind this was the clear winner. Now why would I say that before I even told you about the other wine? Because much like my good friend from Sideways, Miles, I don't like the way wineries manipulate Chardonnay. If you remember from the king of all wine movies, Jack questions Miles' feelings toward Chardonnay, and Miles deftly explains that he loves all varitals in their true form.
The L'Enfant Savage, or wild child, is aged in new French and Slovenian Oak for 13 months. Doug also informed me that it also goes through a full malolactic fermentation. One sip and you'll know. It's a mouthful of butterscotch and vanilla. It's a tremendous wine with exciting flavors and an almost syrupy texture, but just not my style of Chard.
So if you get a chance, find a fully oaked and malolactic fermented Chardonnay and pair it up with a "naked" or unoaked Chard. Katie and I would recommend the Four Vines Naked Chardonnay. Then put the two side by side and enjoy. Wiith only half a box of tissues left I bid you adieu, and till next time..."Why's he calling me meat? I'm the one driving a Porsche. "--???
1 comment:
The Channing Daughters Tocai is one of the finest American white wines I've ever had, the other, also from Long Island, Lieb Cellars Sparkling Pinot Blanc. The production on these wines for the vintages I drank were 156 cases and 70 cases respectively. It's a shame that so few people will try, and fewer still appreciate, how great these wines are and how much potential Long Island has.
Post a Comment