2021 Chateau de L'Ou "Infiniment" Chardonnay Côtes Catalanes Blanc

Professional Reviews

Notes

Séverine Bourrier came to winemaking through her own passion for the subject, not having the family history associated with so many winemakers. She studied oenology in school and worked in Bordeaux for a decade. After meeting her husband, they relocated to a property an hour outside of Perpignan in the Roussillon. They began restoring an old château and did some replanting, rechristening the estate L’Ou, which is Catalan for "egg." The property is in an oval-shaped valley that was used as a rest area by herd animals and likely the Knights Templar on their way to various crusades. The estate consists of three primary terroirs: the alluvial marl soils that make up the valley, and two higher-elevation sites, one made up of black schist and the other brown. Their key grape variety is Syrah but Séverine also grows the classic regional varieties like Grenache and Carignan. For white grapes, they grow Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Muscat and of all things, Chardonnay, which is renowned for being one of the best in the region. The Chardonnay "Infiniment" comes from the black schist soils on one of their higher-elevation sites. Aging occurs in 300-liter barrels with some lees stirring during elevage, which yields a rich and creamy rendition that still holds great minerality and flavors of baked apples, cinnamon and honeysuckle. If it were from California, it would fetch twice the price. (Keith Mabry, K&L Wine Merchants)