Thrifty Gourmet Wine Steal – Chateau Charron 2007
Poor old France. First it was the Judgement of Paris, when American wine first topped the best the French had to offer in a blind tasting; then brash and colorful wines from South Africa, Chile and Australia began arriving in wine stores, hogging shelf space that France had once held unopposed; and now – mon dieu! – the old enemy, England, is producing award-winning sparkling wine just as the Champagne region comes under threat from climate change. There are mutterings that the writing is on the wall for the anachronistic French wine industry.
Never underestimate French self-belief though. When the rest of the wine-making world gets over-excited about the latest über-trendy grape variety or a new bottle closure that will change life for wine consumers forever, the Gallic response is a laconic shrug of the shoulders followed by carrying on as before. And sometimes, that is exactly the right attitude. Sure, there are dozens of boring or poor quality French wines, especially at the inexpensive end of the market, while France has also been guilty of complacency in the face of the threat posed by fine wines produced in the New World, and much of the French wine industry needs modernization, particularly its marketing. But for many French winemakers, the motto is rightly ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
One producer who thankfully has this outlook is Chateau Charron. Since the 18th century, this chateau has been producing red and white wines in Bordeaux’s Cotes de Blaye (Thrifty Gourmet Wine Tip: reds from the Cotes de Blaye and Cotes de Bourg are a great value-for-money alternative to their more famous neighbors St-Emilion and Pomerol). White Bordeaux, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, is less exalted than the world’s two great Sauvignon producing regions, the Loire Valley (Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé) and New Zealand, but has many wines worthy of acclaim.
Chateau Charron 2007 treads a path between the in-your-face fruit of Kiwi Sauvignons, and the minerally elegance of Sancerre. A hefty proportion of Semillon in the blend gives it a richness with flavors of mango and lime, while the Sauvignon Blanc gives it a blast of zesty citrus fruit and crisp acidity. This is a fine food-pairing wine – it’d be perfect with lightly spicy Thai or Chinese dishes, meaty fish like roast sea bass, or would be sublime to sip in the sunshine alongside a bowl of olives or smoked almonds. And the price? It’s a steal on sale at 67 Wine on the Upper West Side for $9.99, down from $11.99. Snap up this bargain, old-school classic while you can.
By Jamie Grafton on May 7, 2009 | 0
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