How goes it, Free Rangers?
At some point in the last few years, I’ve apparently become somebody’s grandma, because all I want to drink, most of the time, is expensive Chardonnay. By expensive, I mean delicious, and the majority of my regular sippers in the category hit the shelf between $25 and $55.
An unfortunate number of people seem to identify their wine drinking by what they “hate”. And the most hated- by self-report on our sales floor– is Chardonnay, by a fair margin. The even more misunderstood Riesling is a medium distant second, but that’s a varietal for another time. And I get it, to a degree. If you’ve only ever tasted a major market 2×4 dipped in butter, and you thought that’s what all Chardonnay tastes like, that’s unfortunate for your palate and for this venerable varietal. So, let me please say this one last time for the record: all Chardonnay is not Kendall-Jackson. If you hear some garbage of the minute song on the radio, do you think that all songs are terrible? Even if you think you do, based on previous experience, you don’t hate Chardonnay, you just don’t dig how it is often manipulated after crush. Also, let’s try and reserve our hate for truly evil things, like genocide, Dick Cheney, and Auto-Tune.
But back to Chardonnay. Many of the greats (and a few of the greatest offenders) come from California, but the highest concentration of the most exciting Chard in the world is unquestionably in Burgundy, France and Willamette Valley, Oregon. Not coincidentally, the vast majority of my Chard consumption originates with grapes in these two regions. And since it was recently pointed out that we haven’t offered a white wine based deal in some time, below you’ll find a significantly discounted 6-pack of my top picks for reasonably priced “expensive” Chardonnay.
Ponzi Reserve Chardonnay 2017 is a staple here at the shop, and is a steal at our regular shelf price of $30 ($45 at the vineyard). At 15% new oak, it rides the line between richness and freshness. Eyrie’s founder, David Lett, planted the first Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris in Willamette in the mid ‘60s, and Eyrie Estate Chardonnay 2019 is one in a long line of truly classic releases. Many of you know Brittan Vineyards from their Estate and Basalt Vineyard Pinot Noir we’ve featured a number of vintages in a row, and their Brittan Estate Chardonnay 2018 is just as worthy of your table as their delicious reds.
Burgundy is the most venerated region in the world for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and the finest examples are prohibitively pricey for most mortal, the most age-worthy of which seem to be breaking auction records every few months. The dividing line of this frontier seems to be Chablis, where one can find a delicious Chard from $20-something up to a couple grand per bottle. Garnier Petit Chablis 2019 is a staples here at the shop and is the very best deal we can find in truly delicious Chablis, crisp, clean, limestone driven. Rollin Pernand-Vergelesses 2018 is a softer, subtler take on white Burgundy, beautiful on its own, or with lighter fare. Jean Dauvissat Chablis Montmains 2018 is a lovely, expressive Chard from a Premier Cru property, of notable depth, subtly, and balance.
(!) Click here for the hidden sale page (!)
sale: retail:
Chard 6-pack $169 $222
*** SALE AVAILABLE ONLINE ONLY ***
*** This week only! ***
Until next time,
Jack
Proprietor
Free Range Wine & Spirits
P.S. Free Range E-mail Archive
