A nearly forgotten technique for exceptional wines has some producers going back to black.
written by Katherine Cole
published August 3, 2017
The search for the soul of Chardonnay has been labyrinthine. There have been so many wrong turns. So many dead ends. So many retreats and reorientations. (Remember the 180-degree swing from heavily toasted oak to “inox” steel tanks?”
Theseus emerged alive from the labyrinth of Daedalus by holding tight to a peace of thread. Similarly, those on the cutting edge of Chardonnay production today are looking fearlessly forward while holding tight to the traditions of the past.
Those traditions include a bit of black magic: juice that comes pouring from the press as dark as pitch but is shimmering green-tinted gold by the time it’s bottled. Some call this mysterious liquid Black Chardonnay.
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