One of the Great Chardonnay Values in the World!

Dear Friend,

Continuing our month of outrageous wine values, today we are featuring a white wine that somehow has been flying under the radar for over 20 years. We have carried Novellum Chardonnay sporadically through the years, but it never seems to gain traction. Maybe it is because most people search for Chardonnay from popular new world regions like California, Australia or Argentina or from the old world in Burgundy, France. Today, we head to the beautiful maritime vineyards in France, but down south in the Roussillon where the Pyrenees Mountains meet the Mediterranean Sea. Here we find Jean Marc-Lafage, who with his wife, are making stunning red and white wine values.

Novellum is a special cuvee made for importer Eric Solomon. Solomon has been importing Domaine Lafage wines for years. Jean Marc-Lafage and Eric Solomon have worked together on a couple of other wines you have seen on our shelves, like Evodia from Spain. The Lafage family has been growing grapes in the South of France for two centuries. In the 1980's, Jean-Marc was a young boy helping in the vineyards. His father Guy gave him a small lot of wine to vinify all by himself. He loved the work and that day as a child decided to become a winemaker. Years later, he met his wife Elaine while they were both studying wine. Together they have become a dynamic winemaking couple, traveling around the world to learn new techniques to improve their wines. They have become ambassadors for the wines of the Roussillon, proving to the world that top wines can be made here.

This Chardonnay does an incredible job of being rich but not heavy. There is very little oak on the wine, it is mostly aged in stainless steel but for additional aromatics and texture it is mixed with the lees from one of the estate’s Viogniers. It is incredibly complex for the price. You should find it to be dry and full-bodied, rich and creamy on the palate with ripe stone fruit, citrus zest and lemon flavors, balanced with bright acidity.

If you are interested in today's featured wine, please reply to this email, call your nearest location or click the Shop Now Button to order. Curbside pickup or delivery is available. This is in stock at all of our locations. I am sure many of you have not tasted this before, even the Chardonnay lovers on our email list. It is over in the South of France section, not the Chardonnay area, so it gets lost a bit. Try Novellum now while on sale, you may want to grab six bottles or a case if this is a style you like. By the way, in the review below, Jeb Dunnock compares it to an Aubert Chardonnay, those all sell for over $150 a bottle.

Sincerely,

Alek Leontie

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