First, an apology, I haven’t written an entry since New Orleans. Firstly, sharing wine with Jason is the best and optimal situation, because we talk about wine and just enjoy each other’s company well, for some reason, I remember the wine much better. Anyway, it’s summer and I’m into white and rosé totally. At the Winery, we have a Viognier! Yay for my often favorite white grape. I’ve also had about three good dry rosés and a bunch of good whites lately. I tasted many new varietals: Argy’s Torrontes, Gruner Veltliner, Muscadet (that’s the region of France, the varietal is melon something), Rousanne, Marsanne (blended w/Viognier), Tempranillo (as rosé), along with a few others. I also tasted out of four barrels at work, which was uber-fun, and I was with my fun co-workers and bosses, so it was a fun night. So, I’m sorry, but I may not update you on all of this wine, but most of it was very very nice.

Lady Chablis.

Ever since I first tasted a Chablis at a dry white wine tasting at work, I was sort of hooked. Looking back at my notes, I wrote very little, except for “stone” and “good”. Although those two words are mediocre, the taste of that wine, I call it “depth”, stuck with me. First of all, it was an un-oaked or un-oaky expression of Chardonnay, which I love in a good Champagne, and it seemed food friendly (think seafood), stern, austere, and a great character for a play. I’d also been reading a lot of blogs, particularly Eric Asimov’s The Pour, where he praises Chablis to no end…and Asimov is not pretentious and seems fun. Which brings me to the second part of this entry. My lil’ sis was the last of our clan to graduate from our high school in Fort Wayne (arguably she had the most success of three extremely successful students). She will be studying at SCAD in Savannah, GA in the fall. In celebration of that, I bought John Berendt’s non-fictional Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil for me to read and pass on to the lil’ sis. I haven’t yet gotten to the entrance of the Lady Chablis, but I have been on the hunt for a Chablis literally for months. Finally, my friend Kate and I were in Indy at Trader Joes, when I bought a lovely dry Rioja rosé, and found for $13.99 a 2002 Premier Cru Chablis. “What a bargain,” I thought! So I grabbed it. The label just said “Blason de Bourgogne 2002 1er [premier] Cru Chablis,” and I thought, well 2002 was recommended to me once, and I know 1er Cru is ‘better’ than regular Chablis or Petit Chablis. Trader Joe’s description was also very convincing, and seafood was mentioned. So I invested. After months of agonizing over a white Bourgogne that was just too lush for my desires, I was itching to open this. Yesterday, I did. Success! Light lemony citrusyness with that wet stone aroma, lovely freshness and finish. A little lees-y quality when the wine warms up a tad, and a noticeable alcohol as well. While not the perfect Chablis, it is very very encouraging. I hope to pair it with an arugula salad in a few minutes.

2002 Blason de Bourgogne 1er Cru Chablis

• Chablis, France (north of the Cote D’Or, but still considered a part of Burgundy)
• 100% Chardonnay
• Very pale yellow hay-green, typical Chablis.
• Smell: citrus and austerity, not fruity but with a hint of young lemons, wet stone (slate).
• Taste: Frefreshing, light, yet something about this wine penetrates my soul (or palate) like a diamond. the lemon is refreshing and the minerality (like mineral water with an oomph) is so palate cleasing and graceful and strong. It’s hard to define Chablis in words, I think.
• $13.99 @ Trader Joes (amazing for a 1er Cru)
  
• 13% alcohol/volume (a touch too high, I think)
  
• Great with fried oysters, I’d imagine. Good with a crisp romaine heart salad with some tuna and a Dijon mustard vinegrette.

Next goal: wait for a paycheck and get more Chablis.