Chardonnay
Presentation of the Chardonnay, unique variety in the great appellations of Burgundy.
It is the grape variety of white Burgundy.
In Australia, South Africa and California, it was the object of a fierce enthusiasm because it adapts to a wide range of climates and soils. Its early maturity makes it vulnerable to spring frosts especially in Champagne and Chablis.
Because the vine is spirited, the quality-conscious wine-grower bridges its production by a severe size and a high density of plantation (up to 7600 feet / ha in Champagne, this density sometimes drops to 1000 feet / ha in Australia!).
Relatively easy to vinify, it takes an aggregate of blunders to draw a mediocre wine. In hot climates, the excess of maturity inclines him to the softness, even the heaviness, its skin well pigmented, gives wines to golden color. He likes to have his timber reinforced by barrel breeding.
Less typified than Sauvignon or Alsatian grape varieties, it knows how to make its ranges and lets shape its expression according to the terroir, the climate and the art of the winemaker. Chardonnay gives wines with noble and subtle aromas: hawthorn, honeysuckle, acacia, white rose, genet, linden, menthol, eucalyptus, fern, verbena, lemongrass, citrus, exotic fruits, green apple, melon, toasted almonds and hazelnuts Butters, humus, mushrooms (mousseron and meadow rosé).
Balanced and fat, its often nervous finish can have a mineral tip (limestone, flint,) or metallic for the great crus of the golden coast (Chevalier-Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne, Meursault).
Its notoriety gives an aura of prestige to the least Chardonnay from Chile or the Mediterranean areas. In the "new" vineyards, after having made strongly alcoholic and hyper-wooded Chardonnay, the wine fell into the opposite extreme: light wines little marked by breeding and acidulous.
Good winemakers have managed to avoid this pendulum movement (Mondavi, Beringer in California, Thomas Hardy in Australia, Concha y Toro in Chile and other Miguel Torres in Penedes) produce remarkable bottles confusing the sagacity of the best tasters.
The fresh or mountainous areas of Italy produce very interesting chardonnay which are often offered to the amateur by the simple term of "wines of Tavola". In France, the amateur will not disdain to be interested in "experiments" tempted here and there outside Champagne or Burgundy: VDQS du Haut Poitou, surprising cuvées on the Rhone coast, renewal of the viticulture Ardèche.
In the long term, some areas of the Loire Valley where the chenin is not too comfortable, gain in aromas and affability thanks to a 10 to 20% increase in Chardonnay: a new style of Blanc de Loire is on the fonts -baptismaux.
It is also called Morillon or Feinburgunder.
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Pinot noir
A Burgundian tells you about this grape variety
Pinot noir is the great noble variety of Burgundy.
When it is well vinified, aromas of morello cherries irritate your nose. The mouth is fruity with a slightly hard finish ...
It does not matter, you do not ask a baby to run the 100 meters in less than 10 seconds.
But yes, the pinots ask for custody, minimum 3-4 years for the generic, 5 to 8 years for the 1er Cru, and from 10 to 30 years for the grands crus.
Pinot noirs de Bourgogne do not bear mediocrity; They require very low yields (25 to 35 hectoliters / hectare) and a careful rearing (few racking). Pinots are rather reduction wines than oxidation (to be meditated by pseudo-professionals!). A quality breeding implies a passage in barrel but for a duration of one year maximum.
As much as one can appreciate in their Bordeaux wines, their great classicism, one must recognize the great aromatic complexity of the great wines of Burgundy, which range from aromas of fruit, notes of musk, undergrowth, And this is what makes the great, a wide palette of flavors ranging from fruity and / or floral to aromas of 'animal' type. The wines are often of an astounding aromatic persistence, up to 2-3 minutes; Well of the happiness in perspective ...
I will not mention the bad vine growers, those who make the legal yield (50 to 60 hectos / hectare), plus a PLC, an addition that can increase production by 20 to 25% in some years (the banker must be Or old quarries of potash, which lead to higher yields and lower acidity (hence acidification based on tartaric acid). Let's not talk about pesticides and other insecticides ... I would risk getting angry!
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Pinot Meunier
One of the three Champagne varieties
Pinot Meunier is similar to Pinot Noir. However, it is a slightly later variety.
The Pinot Meunier has large blue-colored clusters.
Yields are relatively high. It