Wine Focus May 2022 - ChardoMay!

[Jenise]

2017 Verget Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons Chardonnay
Lemon curd and apple with modest salinity and great structure; very drinkable now but with this kind of structure, further aging will pay off.

[David M. Bueker]

2017 Verget Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons Chardonnay
Lemon curd and apple with modest salinity and great structure; very drinkable now but with this kind of structure, further aging will pay off.

What's the cost on that wine these days? I remember getting 2002 for like $17.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2019 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (5/24/2022)
  White peach, apple skin and flint make for a lovely aromatic, and the palate shows just enough richness to accurately balance the acidity. The only slight pause I have is that the alcohol sticks out a bit as it warms in the glass, but keeping it at just under cellar temp addresses that.

Tasted a few Baden chardonnays this afternoon, with the winemaker bringing himself up to Berlin. A new and young winemaker - Johannes Aufricht. His 60euro chardonnay (2020 Van Hauen) was cool fresh firm and deep, certainly very nice but not very competitive at that price from the consumer perspective, even if it reflects the reality of his small operation getting off the ground (I feel the same way about his Spätburgunder Krähen, but that's a subject for a different thread).

His sparkling Blanc de Blancs were more impressive, both the 2019 and the 2020 showed good deep savory mineral chardonnay fruit. I would buy these, depending on the price. But at least more distinctive than the still chardonnay. For now.

[David M. Bueker]

At least things weren’t all Baden.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2011 Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (5/29/2022)
  Figured another look a little more than a year after our last bottle was a good idea. This one was a beast! Massive, and to a degree unrelenting, it stayed brash and brawny for a full 24 hours, as we had it over the course of two meals. Lemon fruit on steroids, with feisty acidity, it took control until we hit it with a bag of potato chips, and it settled down to partner with the salty snack. Wish I had more to see what happens, but it does give me confidence in the subsequent vintages in the cellar.