The French Concoction. Again!

I’ve stayed away of French wines, for a long time. I did not like the mystical reverence expressed by American wine snobs – who can’t pronounce a French word, to save their lives. And I was afraid they may make me homesick. In Europe we do like lighter wine, with less bells and whistles than the New World adds to them. We like to enjoy wine and we knock ourselves out with heavier things.

Anyway, after being so impressed by a French Pinot, hand in hand with my Cellar Master, we hit BevMo, to discover more reds. We mixed a case, since they had again the 0.05 cents second bottle promotion. We came home with more of the Wilfred Wong’s over 90 points selection. Just so that you know: when it is about wine critics, I love more Wilfred Wong than Robert Parker. Wong is down to earth. Parker is up in the clouds. Two outstanding critics, but at the end of the day Wong is the one I would care to share a glass. We’d have things to discuss about.

So, here is the pick of the day: the 2009 Émile Chandesais Bourgogne Pinot Noir. It is made out of 100% Pinot Noir grapes. I picked it because of the 90 Wong Points and because it told me it has 12.5% alcohol. Pinot Noirs are hard to make because the grapes are very fickle – the slightest changes in weather can impact them easily. So, anything with less than the “decency limit” of 13% tells me that the wine was carefully crafted and not overwhelmed with alcohol, to hide some grapes or winemaking defects. In my humble opinion, it is an art to make a wine with lower alcohol and keep it pleasant.

 
The 2009 Émile Chandesais Bourgogne Pinot Noir was $19.99 at BevMo and I found it under $12 online. It is worth the 90 points. I’ll save the second bottle, for a rainy day. The 2009 Émile Chandesais Bourgogne Pinot Noir had, again a fresh and nice smell, notes of my beloved cherries and was slightly earthy. I loved the purple-red color, the overall lightness, yelling for less and easier food. It made me imagine a not-so-beautiful-but-lovely French woman, properly walking in her cute (and FIT) high-heels and dragging behind a light veil of perfume. I can talk volumes about wearing perfume and high heels in Europe – versus the American “we are a non-fragrance environment”, improper walking in high-heels and the improper fitting a pair of shoes, that makes me sick to my stomach – but I’ll stop here.