Charming (adj) •• extremely pleasing or delightful; to attract irresistibly; to delight exceedingly.
Charming wines are really simply that; charming. They are very pleasant to drink and they frequently will have almost a magical characteristic about them. These are the white wines that finally get someone to like white wines, whether it is a fabulous French chablis or vouvray, a Spanish alabarino, or an Italian falanghina. Charming wines lend themselves to enhancing meals and conversations. Below are some wines that we find to be simply charming.
The owner/winemaker of this great Bordeaux is a bit of a recluse. He doesn't like to travel or actively sell his wine, so he only works with one importer for the US and sells him his entire amount of export production. This helps to keep the cost low, even though the wine is great. The wine is blend of semillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle. It has a light citrus aroma with a nice zing of acidity on the tongue. It is not caked and would go great with light seafood dishes like grilled halibut or maybe shrimp scampi.
The Champalous refer to this wine as their sec tendre, or tender dry wine. It is slightly less austrere and acidic than sec, or dry, Vouvray. The chanin blancs from the Vouvray region have the remarkable ability to age well depending upon the vintage. 2006 was a pretty good year and the wine can be consumed now, or cellared for a number of years. The wine shows great with a wonderful velvety texture, aroumas of flowers, and a hint of honey that give it the tendre.
Savoie is in the foothills of the Alps and the name comes from a Latin term for country of fir trees. Wine has been made here since the 11th century. In 1248 a large part of a mountain collapsed and the vines that produce this wine are planted on the rubble created by this geological event. Apremont means bitter mountain and the mineral characteristics of the area show through in the wine. It has clean citrus aromas and flavors to accompany the slightly stony flavor. Great as an aperitif, with light meals or cheese fondue.