If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider
the world famous Burgundy region in eastern France.
Although it's fairly rare, you may even find a bargain. I
hope that you'll have fun on this fact-filled wine
education tour in which we review a Chardonnay white wine
coming from old vines (vieilles vignes) in the Chablis
district of northern Burgundy.
Among France's eleven wine-growing regions Burgundy ranks
fourth in acreage if you include the Beaujolais region,
which most people do in spite of their considerable
differences. Partisans, and they are many, claim that
Burgundy is really the number one or number two
wine-producing region in France, if not in the world. The
wine reviewed below comes from the Chablis district of
northern Burgundy that is physically closer to Champagne
than to the rest of Burgundy. Chablis is known for its
white wines, but some red is produced, especially from a
local grape known as Cesar. If I can get my hands on some,
I'll be glad to give it a shot. Until then I'll have to be
satisfied with Burgundy whites.
Chablis is not only a style of wine known around the world.
It's also a village of less than three thousand in a
district of the same name. You can enjoy some old houses,
the Serein River, and the Length-Depaquit Castle but its
main attractions are the vineyards and the wine shops.
The smaller single-street village of Vezelay was a major
pilgrimage site in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. The
medieval Basilique Ste-Madeleine (Saint Madelene's
Basilica) is really worth seeing for its Romanesque
architecture. The grounds are also beautiful. In fact the
complex is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The same guy
who restored the basilica also restored the Cathedral of
Amiens and Notre-Dame in Paris.
Before reviewing the Burgundy wine and imported cheeses
that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store
and local imported food stores, here are a few suggestions
of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this
beautiful region. Start with Escargots de Bourgogne (Snails
in Parsley Butter). For your second course savor Fondue
Bourguignonne (Beef Fondue). And as dessert indulge
yourself with Poires pochees au vin de Bourgogne (Pears
poached in Burgundy Wine).
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review
are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed La Chablisienne Chablis Les Vieilles Vignes
2003 12.6% about $24.00
Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Steely
Intensity. Vieilles Vignes, or Old Vines, yield less fruit
but the quality is much higher than that of younger vines.
This intense Chardonnay is consistently excellent with
green apple, lemon, and loads of mineral characteristics.
It's dry and steely with a long, crisp finish. Serve it
with lemon chicken or oysters on the half shell. And now
for the review.
My first meal was a meatless quiche with sesame seeds,
broccoli, mushrooms, red and green peppers, and
non-imported cheese. The wine is crisply acidic. I really
tasted the lime. This wine was imbued with that Chablis
taste of flint. And yet the wine and food weren't a
particularly good match. Things worked out marginally
better with a tomato, cucumber, red onion, and parsley
salad.
The next meal involved a baked salmon filet that marinated
for 24 hours in a sesame seed, honey, garlic, soya, and
black pepper sauce. The sides were mashed potatoes in
bouillon and zucchini in tomato sauce. This combination
worked excellently. The wine was lemony and powerful. It
was palate cleansing and tasted steely and flinty. I sort
of ruined things with dessert, fruit-juice candy that
flattened the wine a bit. Honestly, in all my readings and
discussions, I have never come across the pairing of
fruit-juice candy and Burgundy wine. As per my policy, I
don't blame the wine for weird food pairings that don't fly.
The final meal consisted of breaded, fried chicken cutlets,
potato patties, and caponata, a thick Italian-style
commercial eggplant salad including tomatoes and olives.
The wine was very refreshing with plenty of lime and
acidity, strong and yet subtle. This combination was
classic and the wine emerged slightly different with each
of the meal's components. Believe or not, it became
ethereal when paired with the same fruit-juice candy tasted
above.
The first cheese pairing was with an Emmenthaler (Swiss)
cheese that actually came from Germany. Even though the
cheese was quite mild, it flattened the wine which no
longer came out so nicely acidic. I then tried this
Chardonnay with goat cheese from the Poitou-Charentes
region of central western France. Even though the cheese
gave off a bit of ammonia, the pairing was interesting; the
wine was round and a bit thick.
Final verdict. Burgundy brings its expectations, even more
so when it is labeled Old Vines. This is not a wine for
daily consumption, not for me anyway. But the salmon filet
pairing showed the heights that it can reach when properly
paired. I would buy it again but watch carefully the
accompanying food. And regret, as so often, that it isn't
considerably less expensive.
----------------------------------------------------
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on
computers and the Internet, but between you and me, he
prefers drinking fine German or other wine, accompanied by
the right foods and the right people. He teaches classes in
computers at an Ontario French-language community college.
Check out his global wine website is
http://www.theworldwidewine.com with a new weekly column
reviewing $10 wines.
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