2012 Chappellet Chardonnay and Gabietou

Both our wine and cheese this week are from recent tasting events that we attended. The wine is from Holiday wines at Wm Cross Wine Merchant (https://wineandcheesefriday.com/holiday-wines-at-william-cross-wine-merchant/) and the cheese is from the Friday night Cheese Plus Intimate and Exclusive tasting (https://wineandcheesefriday.com/cheese-plus-intimate-and-exclusive-tasting-friday/). We enjoyed both of them individually at their tastings, let’s see how they do together?

I recently declared that “I really like smooth, buttery Chardonnays,” which is what drew me to this wine. When we swirled our wines we both definitely noticed crisp fruit aromas, more specifically apple and pear. One thing that puzzled me was the possibility of a gasoline aroma as well. The flavors were easier to identify, some mineral, caramel, crisp apple, and a hint of butterscotch. Neil made note of the warm, buttery, round flavor but he did also taste some alcohol. Overall a very pleasant wine!

This cheese was the first one I tasted, during a night of cheese indulgence. I knew I wanted to find a cheese that night that would pair with this Chardonnay so I was on the hunt. After all my cheese tasting that evening, I went back through to make my final decision and found out that this cheese is made by a gentleman from Burgundy, so how could I go wrong? Neil found this cheese to have a grassy, pleasant, pungent smell. I didn’t describe the smell as much, just a mild funk, but we agreed it had a medium texture. The flavor had a light funk but we both focused more on the way the cheese coated our tongues. Neil thought it was kind of like processed cheese, but with no disrespect, just related to the creaminess and softness.

As we paired the Gabietou and Chardonnay we both found some new flavors, which we always hope for during Wine And Cheese Friday. I described the wine as becoming sweeter, smoother and a definite caramel flavor. I also thought the wine caused the cheese to become more tangy and funky. Neil said the wines warmth made the cheese feel warm. He also found the wine to become creamier but then the finish of the wine was crisp. We both voted this as a good pairing, our experience is paying off!