Chablis: Jimmy Choos & Premier Crus

Chablis is just Chablis, innit? But why are some so much better than others? That was the latest question from Digiboy as we paired oysters with Chablis in a moment of decadence this week.

There may be only one place in the world that makes wine like the French village of Chablis, but there are many different qualities to chose from. It's worth bearing these in mind to give you that that extra push in the desired direction. Time for a Vin-alogy!

An elegant wine deserves an elegant image, so...

Grand Cru - the Stiletto. The greatest type: powerful, complex and capable of years of ageing. Like Jimmy Choos, don't wear them too young; it's a waste and people will just think 'tart!'

Premier Cru - the Kitten Heel. For finesse & fabulous structure, but without quite the weight of Grand Cru. This is your guest-at-a-wedding choice; not for everyday, but still kinda special.

Chablis - the Ballet Pump. Fresh, flinty & elegant with that classic chalky tang. Easy enough for everyday, but a day when trainers just won't do. Drink within 3 years or so of vintage.

Petit Chablis - the Flip Flop. Pleasant enough, light bodied and fragrant. Not exactly sophisticated because... it's a flip flop. It's just a Havaiana flip flop!  For early and very easy drinking.


Here are some other cool things you should know about our golden girl, Chablis:


* The grape variety is Chardonnay. Yes, Chardonnay! It's just the cool, lean, elegant Gwyneth Paltrow type as apposed to the big and flouncy, Pamela Anderson kind (See my Chardonnay blog).

* Chablis has a left bank and a right bank - just like Bordeaux.

* Its well-loved, unique chalk-flint and steely style is largely due to the area's distinctive limestone Kimmeridgian soil and the super-cool, climate.

* Straight Chablis is a haven for the anti-oak contingent (although you'll always find an occasional exception).

* It's awesome with white fish and oysters!

Tasting Tour - some easy-to-find, fantastic producers to try:

Billaud-Simon, Dauvissat, William Fevre, Louis Moureau, Jean Durup, Vincent Dampt.


Happy drinking. 


Winebird x

The C word! Pammy & Jen do Chardonnay.

Do you remember how at school there were always about 15 people in your year with the same first name? The parents must have thought they were being quite original at the time, but there was clearly some subliminal advertising going on somewhere. In my year, it was Rachel: fat ones, skinny ones, bitchy ones, drippy ones, French ones, Italian ones; you name it! Variations on a theme of Rachel were popular the world over.

It was hard to work out how to feel about Rachels because just as I had decided I hated the name because of bully Rachel who smelt of wee, I met supermodel-in-training Rachel who had a perm and some older friends who could get into nightclubs. Suddenly, I wanted to name all my future children Rachel. Even the boys.

Well, Chardonnay is the wine version of Rachel. The myriad of different styles you can find worldwide can make it difficult to pin down your thoughts on it. After all, nearly every wine producing region in the world has a go at growing the Chardonnay grape! You may have been put off by some overly oaky, alcoholic fruit bombs in the past, only to discover that your white wine of choice – an unoaked and understated, super-dry offering - is also a Chardonnay. Chablis sound familiar, anyone? Yep. That's Chardonnay.

As styles of of this wine go, they move from the sublime to the ridiculous with arguably the greatest white wines in the world made from this grape. There are still however, some key elements that they all have in common: peachy-melon aromas and flavours and a fuller body than many other white varieties such as Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc.

Obviously, I can’t give the full spectrum of Chardy in this one page, but here is my Human Tasting Tour of 4 key styles to compare. They'll help you to get to know the grape better. If you can, spend a bit more per bottle as you go up the scale:

Human Wine Language Tasting Tour:
Chardonnay 1 - The Pamela Anderson. Big, buxom and bursting with fruit. Well-oaked with a sickly sweet edge and not a lot going on beneath the surface. Try a cheapy from California.

Chardonnay 2 – The Jennifer Aniston. Safe & reliable, with just enough fruit character and a full enough body to keep everyone happy. Try a mid-priced offering from South Africa or Chile.
Chardonnay 3 – The Gwyneth Paltrow. Understated, elegant and super dry with plenty going on upstairs. Celebrated the world over, there’s only one Gywneth Paltrow; there’s only one Chablis.
Chardonnay 4 – The Kate Winslet. A perfect blend of character, beauty and sophistication with plenty of complexity, body and a wide appeal. Another Oscar winning actress, she is the perfect cover-girl for top end White Burgundy.
I'm thirsty now.
Winebird x

Teach me how to read a wine list!

With another client dinner looming, this was the first question DB (Digiboy) asked me on our very first winebird 'date'. Over several glasses of red, white & rosé, we tackled this question by first considering:

What do you fancy drinking?

A gutsy red? A steely white? If you don't want to just ask the waiter at this point, start with the grape. While styles can vary all over the world, the general flavour profiles of the various grape varieties will be very similar anywhere so, get to know a few of the famous ones.

Here are some simple pointers for the best-known RED GRAPES:

• Chunky, dark, full bodied and blackcurranty = Cabernet Sauvignon
• Soft, chocolately, juicy red fruit = Merlot
• Big, warming, peppery and jammy = Shiraz / Syrah (same thing!)
  
• Lighter bodied and fine, stewed spicy cherries = Pinot Noir
• Silky, concentrated, blueberry and plum = Malbec

And some WHITE GRAPES:

• Dry, grassy, elderflower, cat pee (and sometimes tropical fruit!) = Sauvignon Blanc
• Richer, ripe melon & buttery = Chardonnay
• Steely, dry, crisp and chalky = Chardonnay when it's a Chablis! (more on this later)
• Weighty, floral, peaches and orange blossom = Viognier
• Zesty, lime-citrus and rubber = Riesling

Easy, no? No, because as mentioned above, many labels show no mention of a grape! Instead, they are named after areas. As the area itself denotes a particular grape and style, you need to get to know these. Here are some well-known ones. Print them out and keep them in your wallet!

• Chablis -Chardonnay grape (yes it is!) Named after the village where it's produced in Northern France. Steely-dry, chalky and very elegant.

• Sancerre - Sauvignon Blanc grape. Named after a village in the Loire valley famous for this style of Sauvignon: grassy, elderflower, dry and crisp.   

• Chateauneuf-du-Pape - a blend of red grapes, usually Grenache, Syrah & Mourvedre. Named after the region in Southern France. Big, warming, Christmas cakey & figgy.  

• Chianti - Italian region, famous for red 'food' wines made from Sangiovese.

• Burgundy - French wine region famous for reds made from Pinot Noir and whites made from Chardonnay. Some of the very finest wines come from here but they're not cheap! 

• Bordeaux - Another French region famous for fine red blends dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Like Burgundy, you usually have to pay big bucks for the good stuff.  
•  
• Beaujolais - Another French region famous for very light, soft reds tasting of bubblegum and strawberry that are drunk young. Made with the Gamay grape.

• Rioja- Tempranillo grape often with lots of oak aging from the Spanish region of the same name. 

So, Grape and / or Area are generally the two most important pointers on labels, so start with these! The other elements is Producer or Brand Name. As you get more into wine, you'll probably start to pick up which producers are best from an area and which should be avoided.

• Producer is often written as Chateau X or Domaine de X or international versions of that such as Bodega (Spain) and Finca (Argentina).   
• Brand Name. Self explanatory. Check out Fat Bastard or Bob. 

**Style Tip: Hot Climates= Bigger, fruitier and often more alcoholic wines. Cool Climates = Leaner, more elegant, usually with less alcohol**

The examples above are highly generalised, but it doesn't help to go into too much detail too soon. Start with this and we can move on later!

Until next time,

Winebird x

p.s. (Try this great page from the 'winedoctor' for more info on grapes...)