This week iDealwine is putting two of the finest grape varieties in spotlight. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have seduced wine lovers and winemakers from all over the whole world. Check out our excellent selection from the varietals’ native France (2005 Meursault Premier Cru Blagny from Leroy, 1999 Amour de Deutz…) and beyond, from the Mosel-Saar region to Sonoma Valley.
Chardonnay, the Burgundy-native grape that has taken the world by storm
The earliest evidence of this white grape variety can be traced to Burgundy, the world-renowned Chardonnay producing region of France.The grape is named after a tiny eponymous village just south of the Côte Chalonnaise and north of Mâcon, and it is said to be the birthplace of the famous grape. Chardonnay produces elegant and fine white wines, with aromas of white flowers, hazelnut, but also brioche and citrus fruits depending on maturity.
Let’s start looking at the wines in our selection with Burgundy and its famous names. Does the name Domaine Leroy ring a bell? We have their 1978 Meursault Les Charmes, a 2008 Chassagne-Montrachet 2008 or a 2005 Meursault Premier Cru Blagny! There is a 2006 and 2007 Montrachet from Domaine Jacques Prieur with your name on it. The world-famous Maison Albert Bichot has the superb bottles of 2015 Criot Bâtard Montrachet 2015, while Joseph Colin is also keeping us happy with magnums of 2018 Bâtard Montrachet. Don’t forget to take a look at what’s on offer from the Côte Chalonnaise or Mâconnais, they are sure to win you over.
Champagne, and particularly the Côte des Blancs, is also home to these golden berries. Treat yourself to an excellent Champagne like a 2006 brut cuvée from Louis Billecart-Salmon , or for a special occasion, opt for a 1999 Deutz Methuselah d’Amour!
Chardonnay has stolen the hearts of winemakers all over the world and is now made into wine in the four corners of the globe. Want to discover the wines of the southern hemisphere? Head for the Barossa Valley in Australia, and more precisely Margaret River, with a bottle from the Felix Vasse estate in 2018! Their ‘neighbours’ in New Zealand also produce excellent Chardonnay, we love this 2019 vintage from Felton Road.
Excellent Chardonnay is also found in the United States, in Sonoma Valley. If you want to buy a stateside bottle and don’t know where to start, try the 2018 Les Noisetiers cuvée from Domaine Kistler or Freestone 2018 from winemaker Joseph Phelps.
Pinot Noir, precious purple berries
Pinot Noir was also born in the north of France, in Burgundy. Its small, tightly packed bunches produce a wine of great elegance, marked by notes of red fruit, fine spices that evolve into a hint of undergrowth and mushroom. Does this variety only produce red wines? No! Remember that it is the maceration of the skins that gives the wine (red or rosé) its dark colour, so in Champagne the berries are sometimes pressed without the skins having transmitted their colour to the juice. The proof is in the white sparkling wine produced from 100% Pino Noir Grapes in Champagne: Mailly-Champagne Grand Cru 2013 from Bérêche et Fils, the Brut Nature Premier Jour de Vendanges 2016 from Ruppert-Leroy or the Extra Brut La Remissonne 2009 from Philipponnat.
iDealwine has a huge range of red Burgundy in stock, the home of Pinot Noir. Check out 2001 and 2015 Premier Cru Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Narbantons from Domaine Leroy. Maison Louis Jadot is also among the worlds best known Pinot Noir producers, and we love the 2018 Clos-de-Bèze, 2017 Manchezeaux and 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Les Cazetiers. Don’t miss out on these beauties, when they’re gone, they’re gone!
Beyond French boarders Pinot Noir is very popular in Germany and the United States. You can find the excellent 2015 Trarbacher Schlossberg 2015 from the famous Markus Molitor of the Mosel-Saar region, or a bottle of 2016 from the Dundee Hills estate, straight from Oregon!
And so concludes our brief tour du monde of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. You can shop all of the wines mentioned on iDealwine.com or tell us all about your single varietal recent finds in the comments!
