Le Grand Noir Chardonnay 2014
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Great by itself or to accompany all fish and white meat dishes. Will work well with oriental foods as well.
Blend: 85% Chardonnay, 15% Viognier
Robert Joseph is author of 27 books on wine, including French Wines, Bordeaux and its Wines and The Complete Encyclopedia of Wine. He also founded the International Wine Challenge and built it into the world’s biggest wine competition. He was described by Decanter Magazine as one of the 50 people who would influence wine drinking in the 21st century.
Hugh Ryman was one of the first “flying winemakers” and has made wine in 10 countries, winning numerous awards. His experience gives him a uniquely broad view of the 21st Century wine world. Hugh lives in Bordeaux and in Bergerac where he owns the Chateau de la Jaubertie and loves the terroirs of France.
Labels from Kevin Shaw, devised at his Stranger & Stranger studio have helped to boost sales of wines and spirits ranging from Hendricks Gin to Michel Rolland's Clos de Siete. He is a devoted wine lover himself, with a cellar full of eclectically chosen bottles from both the New and Old World.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A catchall term for the area surrounding the Languedoc and Roussillon, Pays d’Oc is the most important IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) in France, producing 85% of this country’s wine under the IGP designation. (IGP indicates wine of good quality, not otherwise elevated to the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status.)
The near perfect Mediterranean climate combined with dry, cool winds from the north, optimal soils, altitudes and exposures make Pays d’Oc an ideal wine growing region. Single varietal wines and blends are possible here and while many types of grapes do well in Pays d’Oc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Grenache and Cinsault are among the most common.