No, I haven’t hit my head…well, not lately anyways. Chardonnay in Bordeaux, YES!! Anytime you think you have a wine region figured out, Bacchus throws you a curve ball, and that is exactly what happened to me this week. I was doing a little research on a completely different subject and came across a story on Clos Dubreuil of St. Emilion and found that indeed, Chardonnay was being produced in Bordeaux. All these years of trying to explain to people that only specific grapes (wines) can be made in certain areas in Europe and why that is and yada, yada, yada as their eyes begin to glaze over, then something like this comes around and we're back to square one. So this is what I found out about Bordelaise Chardonnay:

Benoit Trocard is the managing director of Clos Dubreuil--his family has many holdings throughout the Right Bank, including wines from Pomerol, Bordeaux Superieur and now in Lussac, where the Chardonnay is planted. Trocard has politicked for some time to grow this white grape that was not permitted by the AOC, France's governing body for wine. The allowable grapes up to now in Bordeaux are Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Sauvignon Gris, Muscadelle and some very small plantings of varieties like Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Columbard. Dubreuil Chardonnay, as it is labeled, is for now a small 100 cases of production from less than a hectare of vineyards, but is planned to go to over 300 cases in the future. Lussac, which is just north of St. Emilion, has soils comprised mainly of limestone and clay. The Dubreuil Chardonnay sees about 10 months of aging in 50 percent new French oak barrels and sells for around $60 a bottle. An early review of the wines goes like this…"2013 Dubreuil Chardonnay, Debut vintage of this 100% Chardonnay. From the team at Clos Dubreuil, the wine pops with lemon, orange and grapefruit aromas. Zippy, but a bit short in the citrus finish.” 

And though this is mostly an experiment for now, Benoit Trocard feels that if this area is capable of producing quality Chardonnay, then he sees no reason why it shouldn’t be allowed. French wines with screw tops, bottles carrying the varietal name on the label--it’s as if French wines are entering the modern world. Who knows what's next, Ch. Lafite in a box?? There I go, hitting my head again!

Ken Amendola, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinekena