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Wine Recommendation
Chateau Chantal
2005 Select Harvest Chardonnay(Old Mission Peninsula)
When grafted Vitis vinifera grape vines replaced cherry orchards in 1983, Chateau Chantal was born on Michigan's Old Mission Peninsula. The 45th parallel location has proven a unique micro-climate for Chardonnay, among other varieties.
Typically, Chateau Chantal produces a crisp, dry-style Chardonnay, but 2005 was an atypical Old Mission Peninsula growing season. Picked at 25.1 degrees Brix, this Select Harvest wine is off-dry. However, insufficiently sweet to be considered in a semi-dry category.
Some critics may frown on sweet-edged Chardonnays. Yet, when they're balanced with full fruit flavors and a rich, creamy and lush mouth presence, they are pleasurable and harmonize well with sushi and other Asian-spicy culinary delights. Richly-sauced seafood dishes often clash with a dry, citrusy Chardonnay but this Select Harvest version does not.
With aromas of ripe apple, tempered citrus, carnation-like spicy floral notes, tropical fruit and Crenshaw melon, the 2005 Chateau Chantal Select Harvest Chardonnay is unique for its AVA and singular among its peers. Flavors well mirror aromas and overall the wine ends pleasantly fruity with substantial length and finesse from five months aging in French oak.
Reviewed January 10, 2007 by Eleanor & Ray Heald.
Other Awards & Accolades
Bronze Medal - 2007 Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition
Other reviewed wines from Chateau Chantal
  2005 Proprietor's Reserve Pinot Noir (Old Mission Peninsula)Eleanor & Ray Heald 1/10/2007 |
The Wine
Winery: Chateau Chantal |
The Reviewer
Eleanor & Ray Heald
The Healds have been writing about wine since 1978 and have focused on appellation significance in many of their world beat writings. They value recognizing site personality (terroir) within an appellation's wines. They praise balance and elegance in wines styled to pair well with food and eschew over-extraction, high alcohol and heavy-handed oak. “Delicious” is their favorite descriptor for a great, well-made wine. |