the taste of others

SG & Jane Birkin

Not everyone has the same taste.


I like slightly dirty wines.


So what has happened to French white wines recently?


Things seem lighter, fruitier, cleaner.


I champion the screw cap, but it's not so much because I want more fruit taste, but because I don't like spending money on a corked wine.


But corked wine is not what I mean when I say dirty.


What I mean is, in a Chardonnay, when the secondary malo-lactic characters taste closer to an aged Roquefort cheese, rather than Kraft slices.


Good old-fashioned French white burgundy smells like tangy sex, often has a dismissive gesture of fruit, and can be difficult and demanding.


How refreshing: wine that is not f**king refreshing.


French wines, even Italian wines, are becoming fresher and fruitier to compete in the crowded UK market.


Pause…sip ice water…continue.


This afternoon I had a Chardonnay tasting, and even the most opulent French wine could only be described as "Opulent Lite" - especially compared to burgundies I tasted 5 years ago.


Is it the case, as in fragrance, all the dangerous smells are disappearing?


Here are my notes for my favourite out of the eight, "clean" yet complex and a true joy to taste over time:

Vincent Girardin Meursault Les Narvaux 2006 £39.99 a bottle, 13.5%

Slight butter and smoke flavours on the nose with voluptuous but ultimately clean citrus flavours. This is not as plush as I'd expect from Meursault, but a smooth and elegant wine that would make excellent company and conversation over a few hours at dinner.

Link: Australian and French wines: vive la difference