Top US chablis

WINE TALK
41

Eric, for sure that’s a factor, the main one though? I’m not convinced.

I’d love to see heat maps for both regions.

Petit Chablis of course has a much more mixed terroir, do any Californian wines have similar soils, and taste the same?

42

I thought the 2011 Liquid Farm White Hill was about the closest thing to Chablis-like I have had in the past few years. I drank this wine blind during a dinner a year or so ago and I thought it could have come from Chablis. I’m not making a sweeping statement that of the LF chards taste like Chablis but this one wine rang very true to that place.

I’m also starting to take notice of the Wind Gap James Berry chardonnay, with some comments that this too is ringing a little like Chablis.

However, for CA chardonnay, I’m not certain we’re going to see true Chablis-like qualities of sea air, saline, lime rind, focused green apple and the other markers I look for in great Chablis.

FWIW, I think a lot of the Louis Michel cuvees and these will often times remind me of some CA counterpoints.

43

The OP did not ask for CA wines that taste like Chablis, but rather for the best US alternatives

44

Well it wouldn’t be a great alternative if it tasted nothing like Chablis, would it? So it has to have some similarities.

45

Not sure I understand the difference. In any case, I would still offer then that you can find wines like Ceritas, Copain, Wind Gap, Liquid Farm that are inspired by Chablis. I’d say all of this fit what Alan is seeking.

46

I would agree, what im after is the minerality, acid and sharpness that i associate with chablis, i just find almost all whites to flabby, buttery and sweet. The 90s style of buttery oaky chards is just a nightmare to my tastebuds, ive had Peter Michael, Kistler etc that is highly rated but just not my thing

Im not sure if im making sense, it does in my mind

Alan

47

Muscadet.

Can’t get much cheaper.

48

Alan, perfect sense.

I was telling a friend last night who is working to u/stand white wine, actually chardonnay was what we were discussing. I had brought a de Villaine Rully and I was asking her to think about what she was tasting. Lemon curd, minerality and citrus. She is trying to get past the butter emphasis and heavier chards she has been used to drinking and I was helping her to see the markers of what I think makes for good drinking chardonnay. Alan, your search is not far off from what I think she is now beginning to understand.

49

Yes, Russell, some thought it Chablis, some CdB, none Cali. Blind tasting is hard. This was double blind. And good Santa Rita Hills Chards can fool almost anybody.

50

Brady, you’re right. This is how the Liquid Farm got onto my radar and blind tasting is a powerful check to what things ‘are’.

51

There is no such thing as a CA wine that tastes exactly like Chablis. And there shouldn’t be. And the weather is not the whole story. And I would argue that there are no Chablis that taste like a Ceritas or a LF. And there shouldn’t be.

Edited to clarify.

52

There is no such thing as a CA wine that tastes exactly like Chablis.<<<<

Wow, Kyle, that certainly reads/feels like a blanket statement [stirthepothal.gif] .

53

All blankets are scratchy.

54

Touché. However, I think my qualifier “exactly” saves me this time. Maybe.

55

If you’re looking for New World Chard with minerality, citrus, and restrained fruit/oak, check out 2011 Varner Bee Block. If you’re on a budget and looking for alternatives to Chablis and Beaune, I’d also explore Rully, St. Veran, and Pouilly Fuisse.

56

Double yeah. I think of Chablis as the place to get good quality, reasonable priced Chardonnay.
The Fevre CR stuff can be had for 15. The are numerous Premier Crus for around 25.
All the Calif stuff that tries to be French seems to be $40+ (how does it cost them more to make a wine with less manipulation??) and the cheaper stuff tastes cheap
When you get to the high end, Calif stuff isn’t comparable to Burgundy (complexity, ageability)

57

Getting tangential here, but for crisp, minerally US whites at decent prices, probably best to look outside the Chardonnay box. Specifically, Grenache Blanc, Albariño, some Sauv Blancs.

58

If we are not going to limit ourselves to wines that taste like Chablis, I recommend Chateau Montelena Cabernet or Ridge Geyserville.

I must admit I get more and more confused by what the OP wants. First, he complains that Chablis is overpriced (silly expensive), a weird criticism.

Then, he wants something Chablis, but rich - which is hardly Chablis.

He says he likes a good Chablis, but then says Chablis is too thin.

Does Chablis play any role in this whatsoever or does he just want a rich California Chardonnay. If he does fine, but boy is this confusing.

Maybe the best suggestion was the Gallo Pink Chablis.

59

just grow up and buy raveneau

60

Since we’re making blanket statements in this thread, my first thought when I saw this was “You know what doesn’t taste that much like Chablis these days? Chablis.”

It’s amazing how much more opulent, ripe, rounded, and suited to early drinking Chablis (and Cote de Beaune whites) are these days. Gone are the days that young Chablis tasted like lemon rinds mixed with battery acid – now they’re more likely to taste like ripe tropical fruits.

That, in turn, makes it less surprising that the wines don’t stand up to age very well anymore.

Anyways, just speaking very broadly (and somewhat lightheartedly) about trends, and I know you can counter with this super expensive producer and that super obscure producer who still make them like the old days yadda yadda.