Over the summer, VinoDuo saw a slight but entertaining film called Bottle Shock. The movie portrays a reenactment of the 1976 slaughter of French Chardonnay in a blind taste test by the upstart, unknown Napa Valley winery Chateau Montelena. The juried tasting event has come to be known as the "Judgment of Paris," and is credited with the launch of California as a respected wine region. As “New World” wine enthusiasts VinoDuo has enthusiastically embraced California Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet. But the Chardonnay, broadly speaking, has not won our hearts. Too many are oak and creamy butter bombs, often lacking elegance and finesse.
Yes, a few California Chardonnays have made our “Must Buy list,” including Matanzas Creek (thank you, Robin,) Williamson, and Merryvale. Walking out of Bottle Shock, we decided it was time to forage through our wine cellar and do a blind tasting of our own. We wondered…how would France fare against two American challengers in 2008?
We held the “Judgment of Lexington” on the last night of summer, toasting a bittersweet farewell to our favorite season. To complement the Chardonnay we made Herb and Spice Roasted Chicken from The Wine Lover’s Cookbook (see recipe below). Gary brought up from the basement (where our oh so elegant wine cellar inhabits a crawl space) three 2005 Chardonnays, one from California, one from Long Island, and one from France. He quickly threw brown paper bags over the bottles, marked them A, B, and C, and the tasting was on.

The ChallengersOnly Gary knew the names of the three
wines in competition…but neither of us knew which was A, B, or C. We
had reviewed each favorably in the past two years.
Up for judgment were:
• Chateau St. Jean, Sonoma County, 2005 $14.00 for the 2007
• Waters Crest, Long Island, 2005 $17.99 for the 2007
• Robert Skalli, South of France, 2005 $17.00 for the 2005
We began by tasting the wines “naked,” without food, then again with the succulent roast chicken, fresh sweet corn, and local tomatoes.
The ResultsVive la France! More specifically, the Langudoc, where Skalli has multiple vineyards throughout the region. The Skalli Chardonnay was a unanimous winner, both with food and on its own. Chateau St. Jean placed second. We loved it on its own but found it overpowered the chicken. Former VinoDuo fave Waters Crest lagged behind.
Robert SkalliThe Skalli impresses from the get-go, with a beautiful light golden straw color and aromas of honeysuckle and a hint of citrus. At first taste we found the Chardonnay light but creamy, with limestone and just a touch of oak. It’s well-balanced and easy to drink.
At dinner, the Skalli really knocked us out. “This fits the food like a glove,” exclaimed Gary. “It doesn’t overpower it; just the perfect amount of flavor.” The chicken’s mustard and herb-infused coating brought out the Chardonnay’s rich flavors, just as the cookbook predicted!
Chateau St. JeanIf we had just stayed with the “naked” tasting, Chateau St. Jean might have edged out Skalli as best in show. On its own, it was everything a California Chard should be—full, flavorful, with a hint of oak. A lovely light straw color, we picked up a pleasant woody aroma, with plum and blueberry notes. Lisa found it “full, creamy…almost like dessert.” And therein lies the rub. When we sipped the Chateau St. Jean with the herbed chicken, the two tastes fought one another. The Chardonnay didn’t complement the meal, it overpowered it.
Waters CrestWe’ve been singing the praises of Jim Waters’ labor of love since we wandered into his tasting room/winery in a slightly industrial section of Long Island’s North Fork wine region. In June 2006 we wrote, “Owner/winemaker started Waters Crest in 2001 following his nightmarish experience as a volunteer fire fighter at the World Trade Center. We learned about the winery’s origins from Jim Waters himself, who took us on a tour of his production facility (which is, literally, in the back of the tasting room, which is in a strip mall!) and shared some promising 2006 releases with us—fresh out of the vat.”
We loved the 2005 Chardonnay and bought several bottles, which we’ve been steadily enjoying over the years. Maybe it had passed its “sell by” date in September 2008, but we were unimpressed with our tasting. Lighter in color than the French and California entrants, Lisa said it was “almost translucent.” We both picked up honeysuckled on the nose, and a touch of strawberry. But we pronounced the taste “thin and uninteresting.” Gary found an unpleasant limestone taste, which became more pronounced when paired with the chicken.
Herb and Spice Roasted Game Hen(we adapted the recipe to 2 chicken breasts)
3 Cornish Game Hens or large chicken pieces
3 whole cloves garlic, peeled
2 large shallots, peeled and quartered
3 large sprigs fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 ½ tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
2 teaspoons fines herbes (we used tarragon, sage, and thyme)
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed (we used anise)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place game hens in a large ovenproof baking dish. Place 1 clove garlic, several pieces of shallot, and 1 rosemary sprig into the cavity of each game hen. Rub ½ teaspoon salt into the cavity of the hens.
In a small bowl, combine mustards, fine herbes, paprika, fennel seek, pepper, red pepper flakes, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and whisk thoroughly. Coat game hens thoroughly with mixture. Place in oven and roast for 1¼ hour or until juices run clear.