2005 Chardonnay, Les Pénitents, Alphonse Mellot
On Sunday we had a small gathering of friends to mark late August. Among the bottles we put on the table were a couple of the 2005 Chardonnay, vin de pays des Coteaux Charitois, from Alphonse Mellot. We left people to help themselves. I was surprised that several friends remarked that they were taken aback that this was a Chardonnay. Used to big, oaky, blowsy Chardonnays from Australia, Chile etc. they didn't recognise this much fresher style as coming from the same grape variety, which they normally don't like.
2005 was the Mellots first vintage from the Coteaux Charitois having bought the vineyards that year from the consortium that developed the vineyards at Chasnay near La Charité. Initially quite successful the consortium ran into problems with frequent changes of winemaker and slow sales.
Of course it isn't really a surprise that this Chardonnay is very different from rich versions from hotter climes as Chasnay is only 100km from Chablis.
Of course it isn't really a surprise that this Chardonnay is very different from rich versions from hotter climes as Chasnay is only 100km from Chablis.
