WTN:2009 St Jean Chard 1997 Badia Riserva Chianti
Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:32 pmDeletedHad a couple of wines out at an excellent local fish restaurant last evening.
2009 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Reserve – quite nice lemony vanilla nose tells you this is no stranger to oak, but that it hadn’t been over done either. Big and round in the mouth, but also overly soft and lacking the acidity to define the structure of the wine. I always think of a well made white Burgundy as being akin to a cello composition played by a gifted player, with body in the lower ranges and definition and interest in the treble range. This chard, and many other Californian chards (though definitely not all) are like listening to the Boccherini Cello Concerto in B flat major played by Yo-Yo Ma (just a personal favourite, any other piece would do for an example) on good stereo gear, but with the treble turned off. No grace notes, and not as interesting or engaging as a Burgundy can be. Of course many (but not all) Australian chards that we see here are more akin to listening to that piece of music on a boombox with added subwoofer, but that’s another review for another time.
We had Shigoku oysters with this – plump, salty nuggets of delight. If you are a fan and haven’t tried them (they are a Pacific Northwest thing) seek them out!
1997 Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva – good colour with lightening edges, classic nose of dark cherry and spice, still carrying significant soft tannins and a slight pleasant astringency midpalate, followed by a good medium long finish. Perfect now – time I got into my stash (this was the first bottle I’d opened). I’ve seen some notes saying it’s faded, but this lasted in the glass with no change for the worse. Cool cellar I guess.
2009 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Reserve – quite nice lemony vanilla nose tells you this is no stranger to oak, but that it hadn’t been over done either. Big and round in the mouth, but also overly soft and lacking the acidity to define the structure of the wine. I always think of a well made white Burgundy as being akin to a cello composition played by a gifted player, with body in the lower ranges and definition and interest in the treble range. This chard, and many other Californian chards (though definitely not all) are like listening to the Boccherini Cello Concerto in B flat major played by Yo-Yo Ma (just a personal favourite, any other piece would do for an example) on good stereo gear, but with the treble turned off. No grace notes, and not as interesting or engaging as a Burgundy can be. Of course many (but not all) Australian chards that we see here are more akin to listening to that piece of music on a boombox with added subwoofer, but that’s another review for another time.
We had Shigoku oysters with this – plump, salty nuggets of delight. If you are a fan and haven’t tried them (they are a Pacific Northwest thing) seek them out!
1997 Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva – good colour with lightening edges, classic nose of dark cherry and spice, still carrying significant soft tannins and a slight pleasant astringency midpalate, followed by a good medium long finish. Perfect now – time I got into my stash (this was the first bottle I’d opened). I’ve seen some notes saying it’s faded, but this lasted in the glass with no change for the worse. Cool cellar I guess.
