Chardonnay St. Morand - Chardonnay (23)

Chardonnay | koelere, zuid-oostelijke ligging op de Tuniberg | stokken 35+ jaar oud | (rode) leisteen en löss terroir | vergisting en rijping voor 12 maanden in barrique | rokerig | honing | steen | intens en fris | geel fruit | citrus | iets specerij | sappig | brood | structuur | iets zout | lang en diep | wat romig

Gebr. Mathis

Het nog jonge koppel Severin en Sabeth zijn goed op weg met het weer tot leven brengen van het oude familiedomein. Ze focussen zich volop op de wijngaarden en kwaliteit door o.a. meteen gecertificeerd biologisch te werken, en passen ze biodynamische praktijken toe. Geweldige prijs/kwaliteit verhouding die meteen goed scoort bij de critici vanaf het begin. Sinds 2024 de derde ster bij Falstaff en genomineerd voor "Newcomer of the Year".

Review

From vines planted in the mid-1980s and vinified in almost 50% new oak barrels (228-liter pièces) for almost a year, the 2022 Chardonnay St. Morand offers a deep, clear, intense, well-concentrated yet pure and mineral bouquet of ripe and lush fruits and a dash of fresh lemon juice. Silky and finessed on the palate, this is a full-bodied, very fine and elegant, beautifully balanced Chardonnay with intense and dense fruit, fine tannins and a long, saline and stimulatingly crunchy finish. This is an impressively tight, characterful and very sustainable Chardonnay from rather stony and even reddish limestone soils only slightly covered by loess. It comes from the cooler, southeast-facing part of the Tuniberg. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in October 2023. 95/100 Stephan Reinhardt

Anyone looking for precious alternatives to Burgundy can find them in Germany. Although the finest Pinots here, regardless of color, cost around 100 or more euros, there are also excellent wines that cost less than half that and deserve our attention. For example, those from the Mathis brothers' winery in Merdingen on the Tuniberg, west of Freiburg.