“This is Chardonnay the way I like it.”
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I had a birthday this past Saturday, and I was in the mood for a good glass of white wine. I didn’t want a red wine, I didn’t want a pink wine, and I didn’t want a “wow” wine. I just wanted something good and white, and as Kim and I were browsing through the produce and wine departments at Westborn Market in Berkley that day, I found exactly what I was looking for.
We’ve been fans of Jean Manciat’s Mâcon-Charnay for many years. For the uninitiated, this is 100% Chardonnay, from one of the “lesser” appellations of Burgundy. We went through a lot of their Franclieu bottling back in the day, and I had been eyeing this one for a while, so it all seemed to come together as I finally took one from the shelf and added it to our cart. When I pulled the cork and poured myself a glass that evening, I was quite satisfied with the libation I had selected.
2021 Jean Manciat Mâcon-Charnay, 13% alc., $21.99: This is Chardonnay the way I like it. It’s not fat and buttery, but rather sleek and well built. It starts off with a nice promise of apple, pear, lemon and mineral on the nose, then follows through with plenty more of the same on the palate, where the minerality shows a certain river stone character. Not as floral as the Manciat Mâcon-Charnay Franclieu we liked so well in the past, but then, this is made with the fruit from younger vines (“only” 25-30 years old, according to the Louis/Dressner website, as opposed to 30-35 years of age for the Franclieu).
I really like the balanced acids and fruit intensity here. I can’t find anything not to like, not even the price, which is a little more than the $10-20 values I try to focus on here. It’s a worthy alternative to the 2021 Deux Roches Mâcon-Villages Tradition that I reviewed here in June, and I’ll buy more of this to drink over the next year or two. It’s got all the goods right now, so why wait? Find this wine
Imported by LDM Wines, Inc., New York, NY
Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo
