You read that right, Albert Bichot 2015 Bourgogne Chardonnay is for real! Can you imagine an $11 Burgundy? If not, run to Costco and see with your own eyes. A good value Burgundy is like finding a unicorn, or the Holy Grail, or a wine lover who has never made up an
adjective to describe wine. Anyone who knows me, can attest to my preference for Burgundy. The problem is that a good bottle can be prohibitively expensive. It felt like my birthday when I stumbled across this gem!
The Burgundy wine region in France is the original home of chardonnay. While grown all over the world, chardonnay grapes are thought to originate in this region. I have heard people describe white Burgundies as "pure chardonnay." Not really sure what that means but it sounds profound. Basically, white Burgundies are the honor students of chardonnay.
So why am I so excited about this particular bottle? It isn't just because I am super cheap, I definitely am, but that isn't the whole story. White wines from Burgundy are often super expensive. Without going into too much detail (I will save that for another time), typically as the quality of the wine in this region increases, so does the price. The tiers in this region (from lowest to highest quality) are bourgogne blanc, village, premier cru, and grand cru. Bourgogne blancs tend be less expensive than the other categories, however, you can still spend $30 easily on a nice Bourgogne blanc. If it is a renowned producer, it isn't unheard of to spend upwards of $60. For village, premier cru or grand cru wines, you can could spend hundreds on a nice bottle. Seriously.
Back to our wine, this particular bourgogne is smooth with minerals and subtle fruit. Don't be put off by minerals, I promise it is not like putting a mouth full of gravel in your glass! It is well balanced and very pleasant. This would make a great weeknight white and I can see it pairing well with food (although keep in mind I am terrible pairing wine with food!). Many prefer to drink white wine chilled, but I enjoyed this wine at room temperature and found it very refreshing.
For the price, I give this wine 4 dollar signs out of 5 $$$$
