So You Think You Know Chardonnay
Couple Goals, Sebastien David – 2022 $15.99
What could be more fun than a liter of crushable, pocket friendly orange wine? Couple Goals has flavors of spice, orange citrus, melons, and apples. The texture is seductively soft, the aromas are floral and herbaceous. – Chung Park, Astor Wines & Spirits Consultant
Aslina, Chardonnay – 2023 $21.96
Aslina was founded by Ntsiki Biyela, the country’s first Black female winemaker, and is named for her grandmother, who’s been a major inspiration in her life. Needless to say, growing up in Mahlabathini, a semi-rural town in KwaZulu-Natal on South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Biyela didn’t have much exposure to wine. She won a scholarship to the University of Stellenbosch and then spent years at Stellakaya. Earning numerous awards along the way, she has become a superstar. All of her wines are excellent, but I love the Chardonnay. It has an Old World, Burgundian vibe with notes of pear, citrus, wet stone and a hint of oak. – Amy Miller, Sales Manager
Swick, The Flood White – 2022 $25.96
Joe Swick’s Flood is a perennial favorite of ours; we always look forward to the new vintage’s arrival. 2022 is styled more like a Georgian wine with its amber hue and earthy aromatics. I found flavors of pineapple, tea, pine, and lavender. Give this baby plenty of time to open up. I found that it was most expressive on the fourth day. Delicious with a beefy washed rind cheese. – Chung Park, Astor Wines & Spirits Consultant
Arbois Chardonnay, Dom. Jean-Louis Tissot – 2021 $34.96
We got to meet Valerie Tissot recently and taste this beautiful wine with her. She is super cool and all of her wines are worth checking out, but this Chardonnay really spoke to me. There’s something about cooler-climate, Old World white wines. It’s almost like I can smell the minerality and crispness on the nose. This is done in the fresh, bright style that you do not always find in Jura, and my guess is, this would age nicely for a few years, if not longer. A very generous wine with fruit and flinty crispness to spare. – Josh Mizrahi, Sales Manager
Ladoix Blanc, Philippe Pacalet – 2020 $129.96
Philippe Pacalet makes some of the best wines that I have ever tasted. On top of that, he is one of the nicest and funniest wine-makers I have ever met. The nephew of Marcel LaPierre, Philippe was born into a family of winemakers. He has become one of the leading natural winemakers in Burgundy, producing wines with minimal intervention to ensure that the terroir is as transparent as possible in his selections. The fruit from his Ladoix Blanc comes from the climat of “Toppe d’Avignon” situated on a gentle slope with a southerly aspect. This wine has incredible freshness and intensity. A complex layer of flavors, poached pear, white flowers, apple blossoms, and lemon curd to name a few, while a button mushroom-like earthiness rounds out the palate. A stunning example of his winemaking. – Matt Goodyear, Astor Wines & Spirits Consultant