ONTARIO CHARDONNAY VERSUS BURGUNDY
Bill Redelmeier, the owner of Southbrook winery, is so sure of his chardonnays that he staged a blind tasting of his chardonnays against some of the best of Burgundy whites for wine writers.
There were two flights the first of which consisted of two commune Burgundies versus his Triomphe chardonnay; the second two grand cru single vineyard Burgundies against his Triomphus chardonnay.
Southbrook's Triomphe line is one level up from the regular and Triomphus one more of Triomphe.
All participants have extensive tasting experience and relatively unbiased.
After individual results were submitted Redelmeir revealed the wines.
The first flight consisted of the following wines:
Meursault Les Narvaux 2002 Domaine Vincent Girardin $ 52.95 75/100
Puligny-Montrachet 2002 Chartron et Trebuchet $ 57.95
78/100
Triomphe Chardonnay 2002 Southbrook $ 19.95
88/100
In the first flight the clear winner, at least according to my palate, was Southbrook's Cardonnay 2000 with its deep golden colour, concentrated apple/pear aromas wafting out of the glass, and luxurious creamy texture. Its full body has enough extract to carry the high alcohol level. Vanilla undertones and lively acidity make this wine eminently enjoyable with refined food like lobster thermidor, or boiled lobster with drawn butter, planked wild salmon, or a fine bouillabaisse.
The Burgundies paled against the luxurious, pure and deep fruit flavours of the Triomphe Chardonnay.
The vintages pitched against each other were rated the same on at least vintage charts.
In the second flight the winner with a minute edge was Chassagne Montrachet Caillerets 2000 due to its fine nuance. The line up consisted of the following brands:
Corton, de Brailles, Grand Cru, 1999, Domaine Chandon $ 185.00 88/100
Chassagne-Montrachet Caillerets 1er Cru, 2000, Domaine Jean Pillot $ 130.00 94/100
Triomphus Chardonnay 2000 Southbrook $ 49.95 93+/100
Obviously the terroir in Chassagne-Montrachet gave the slight edge. It was a very well made Chassagne-Montrachet with exotic fruits on the nose, medium-body, refined texture and elegant balance. The wine was silky smooth, buttery and possessed a long aftertaste. One could say it was a textbook grand cru chardonnay from Burgundy .
Triomphus Chardonnay 2000 had a beautiful old gold brilliant colour, exuding aromas of bananas. In the mouth the first impression was an abundance of layered fruit, full body (14 percent alcohol) and balance. This is a silky smooth and substantial wine without a hint of vanilla with a very long and satisfying aftertaste.
When you factor in prices, however, the choice becomes clear. (Chassagne-Montrachet $ 130.00 versus $ 49.95 for the Triomphus).
It is gratifying to note how far Ontario wineries have come, in a short 30 years, to challenge well-established small estates in Europe . Admittedly Bill Redelmeier buys the best fruit he can find regardless of cost and pays particular attention to barrel aging, blending and bottle aging before release, but the estates against which he pitched his wines are some of the best in Burgundy .
Ontarians and Canadian seem to think that locally produced wines, regardless of the source, are inferior. This perception is by and large wrong, particularly when it comes to chardonnay, riesling and ice wines.
Please see additional articles by Hrayr Berberogula
Hybrid Grapes
AROMATIC AND TASTE PROFILES OF POPULAR GRAPE VARIETIES
ONTARIO 'S NEW BOUTIQUE WINERIES
Icewine
Cave Spring Cellars
COMPARATIVE PINOT NOIR TASTING
Hrayr Berberoglu graduated from the Sal zburg Tourism Academy in Salzburg , Austria
he also obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from York University of Toronto, Canada.
Upon his graduation from the tourism academy he worked for a number of fine hotels
in Germany, Austria, Turkey and Canada .
After immigrating to Canada (1968) he joined the Sonesta Hotel Corporation of Boston
which a the time was operating a hotel in Montreal. Having advanced to the position of
Director of Management Services in the hotel he started looking for a more challenging
position in Toronto and accepted the of Systems Analyst at the Sutton Place.
During his tenure he not only designed and implemented extensive food and beverage
cost control systems for the hotel but also for Bristol Place Hotel and Peel County
Feed Company Steak House. He trained staff in fine service and salesmanship.
In 1973 upon invitation of Ryerson University ' s School of Hospitality and Tourism Man a gement
accepted a teaching position. During his tenure of 27 years he traveled, researched, wrote
and published over 40 books many of which are used in a number of schools across the continent.
Thousands of restaurateurs and hoteliers also use his books as reference.
Mr. Berberoglu also lectured in Switzerland, Colombia, Triniadad and Tobago as well as Finland,
Lithuania, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka and the United States. He retired in 1999 but continues to consult to
a number of to a number of hotels and restaurants, he is a regular contributor to 4 online magazines
and writes articles about food and beverage subjects
