Macon Villages "Grand Elevage"

Also known as Chardonnay from Burgundy.  

  One sip is enough to tell me that this isn't from California (at least what I can usually afford from California) and definitely not Australian even if I couldn't read the label, which I can and this one doesn't even have that many French words in it.

Curiosity about French wines is a good reason to start refreshing all those years in Jr High/High School French from back in the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Way back when I first started to drink some wine here and there I liked Chardonnays.  Flash forward to  a couple of decades later when I returned to drinking wine I discovered I didn't like Chardonnays.   What happened in the intervening 20 years?  What happened was I drank French Chardonnays when I first started drinking - there wasn't much to choose from from California (at least at prices I was paying - somethings are consistent across decades).  20 years later there were more inexpensive Chardonnays available and they were not the type I remembered loving.   I ultimately learned there was a difference between wine regions (duh!), in many cases a big difference.  This was one of those cases. 

I tend to love more French Chardonnays and Chablis than Californian or Australian within the same price range.   I have tasted some $60 California Chardonnays which I have loved but unless they are selling for $20 or under I won't be having more than a taste.  That said I do have one squirreled away that might be making its appearance here before the summer ends.  It was a sale price I could not refuse.   But I digress.

Back to the Macon.  Another very light colored wine.  A floral nose with flowers I can't identify other than knowing it smells more flowery than citrusy -  another improvement over the basic 'yummmmmmm.'  Crisp.  Refreshing.  Tastes more citrusy than it smells.    It seemed to have more body last night than it does tonight.  It has a screw top so it couldn't have had THAT much oxidation but a little bit went a long way to giving it a more tartly acidic edge on the second day.

Works more as an aperitif for me than an accompaniment with the random accompaniments that came after another long hot sweating workday: a romaine, onion and pickle salad with ranch dressing and a handful of grated romano cheese.   You can tell it's been a very long time since I was a dedicated foodie.  Today's food choice was a peanut butter sandwich an hour ago.  I don't think that counts so it is aperitif night tonight.  The Auxerrois from the other night also had a screw top.  MMMMMM That Auxerrois was sublime both days.  Maybe I will have to break down and get some more before I swill my way through my already cellared whites.

I have to get back to opening up my older wines.  I was trying to alternate more recent acquisitions against the archeological ones which really have to be opened, drunk or tossed creating new cellar space to repeat this fun next summer with all new whites or maybe just chilled light reds.   I already miss my reds.