THE COMPLEXITIES OF CHARDONNAY FROM AROUND THE WORLD

We will be sampling the complex nature of the chardonnay grape, when the harvest is placed in oak, aged and allowed malolactic fermentation. The wines were chosen to compare several quality Burgundy wines with some of the better ones from North America, Chile and Australia.

The Wines:

Aperitif: 2001 Karma Vista Chardonnay Southwestern Michigan

2000 Covey Run Chardonnay  Yakima Valley, Washington

2001 Concha Y Tora Exploridor Chardonnay, Casablanca Valley, Santiago, Chile

2000 Tatachilla Chardonnay, McClaren Vale, Adelaide, Australia

2001 Pouilly-Fuisse, Louis Latour,  Macon Region,BurgundyFrance2001

Frei Brothers Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California

2000 Mersault Les Clous, Domaine Bouchard Cote d’Or, Burgundy, France

Cheese and bread will accompany the wines. Coffee and dessert will follow the tasting.  Please bring your own glasses. No smoking or strong fragrances, please. Attendees recognize they will consume alcohol and assume responsibility of having done so. Attendance will be limited to the first 32.  Reservation deadline is Tuesday, March 16, 2004.

Members $20.00

Non-members $22.00

What Happened.........

This tasting was organized by Carl and Ruby Dollhopf.  It began with a locally made chardonnay, as Michigan is now making many fine viniferas.

The wines were selected to show how different the chardonnays can be as the vintners not only manage the terroir factors, but also the degree of oak aging and the use of malolactic conversion.  Carl provided an excellent description of what is being done in the various regions.

Although the wines were not scored, it was clear that the American wines were very well recieved.

Some good bread and cheeses were served with the wines.

We concluded with coffee and dessert cookies.