2009 Louis Max Beaucharme Chardonnay, $10.99

OK. French wines aren't really my thing. But I'm always on the lookout for the next great chard, and at this price point, can you really blame me? Although I have to admit, it does worry me a little that this is last year's vintage crop. I'm trying to tell myself that Aqua de Piedra is last year's vintage too, and look how well that turned out (see the Chicks Review Cheap Wine blog), but I don't know. France is not known for its early-year vintages.

This bottle of wine doesn't promise anything. In fact, it says nothing on the back label other than the wine was imported from Bourgogne by Slocum & Sons in North Haven, CT. Uhhh...things are not looking so good for this wine.

This chardonnay is pale yellow in the glass, with aromas of oak, butter and a slight hint of apricot on the nose. A long-standing sheet hugs the side of the glass, almost like it wants to form legs but doesn't. It looks like a fairly solid, medium-bodied wine from the glass. But I have to admit, the wine does smell good. It smells like an exceptional chard, even if it does only contain 12.5% alcohol by volume.

Eh. Have I ever mentioned how I'm not a fan of French wines?

On the palate, this tastes like water. It has no taste. None. Except it doesn't go down like water, it sort of stings. There is a short aftertaste which consists primarily of oak & a tiny tease of butter. Underwhelming. Completely underwhelming.

If I may stand on my soapbox for a minute, I understand that France & Italy are the great-granddaddies of the world when it comes to wine. But lately, I'm finding that if you want a great bottle of wine from France that doesn't cost your arm & leg or your firstborn child, or that doesn't need to be cellared for 10+ years, you're screwed. This is so disappointing to me. Even Italy has jumped on the bandwagon & is producing some recent vintage wines at a good price point that don't need to be cellared. This is the best France can do? Louis Max is the best they can do? And this is the best Louis Max can put out for those of us who can't afford to blow a car payment on a bottle of wine? Yes, I understand that this is an eleven-dollar bottle of wine. But for this price, you can buy a bottle of American wine - from Washington Valley, New York State, or even one of the famed valleys in California - that's ten times as good. Or you can buy a bottle of wine from Chile, Argentina, Spain, Australia that's far more complex. And with a higher alcohol content.

So, friends & readers, I have to tell you to JUST SAY NO. Do not purchase this bottle under any circumstances. If you want a great bottle, buy anything other than this.

Cheers!

Kate

This wine is thin & watery in my mouth