WINE:There is a danger that in the rush to find new, exotic grape varieties, we may be throwing out baby and bathwater, writes John Wilson
IS THERE ANY truth in the story of the man who tells the sommelier he hates Chardonnay and then asks for a bottle of Chablis? Chablis is of course 100 per cent Chardonnay, as are all the great white wines of Burgundy, from Puligny-Montrachet to Meursault and Pouilly-Fuissé.
Poor old Chardonnay. From being the most sought-after variety of all, in recent years it has fallen victim to a backlash. The ABCs (Anything But Chardonnay) - surely to be followed shortly by SUS (Save Us from Sauvignon) and PNP (Please No Pinot Grigio) - had a point. At one stage, the wine world seemed to be full of boring, confected over-oaked Chardonnay, and every country seemed to make little else.
But there is a danger that in the rush to find new exotic grape varieties, we may be throwing out baby and bathwater. Chardonnay (along with Riesling) is one of the world's greatest white varieties, and it does not get any better than in its spiritual home of Burgundy.
Most of the white Burgundy on sale in Ireland seems to come from either Chablis, in the northern part of Burgundy, or Mâcon in the south. Chablis is bracing, crisp and mineral, Mâcon is richer and riper. These two sub-regions produce reasonably large quantities of wine, and prices are therefore reasonable.
But the really posh part of Burgundy is the Côte d'Or, itself made up of the Côte de Nuits to the north, producing mainly red wine, and the Côte de Beaune, where both red and white share centre stage.
The whites are some of the world's greatest dry wines. Sadly, demand always outstrips production, so prices are never cheap. A basic villages wine, such as a Puligny-Montrachet, will set you back at least €30, a premier cru around €50, and a grand cru, the top of the tree, will probably run to three figures.
However, not all of the wine produced on these great estates makes it to the best wine. Parcels made from younger vines, or deemed not quite good enough, will be marked down to what is technically the most humble appellation of all, Bourgogne Blanc.
They will never be quite as good as the truly great wines, but they are often better than well-known names made by lesser producers. These wines offer more than a nod to the top wines, at a third to a half the price.
A bargain? At over €20 they are hardly cheap, but I believe they offer real value.