When serving wine, I get requests for “unoaked Chardonnay, please” about as often as a pub musician gets requests for “Tennessee Whiskey.” The backlash against buttery oak bombs is still going strong.
Lucky for all of us, there are some woodless wonders coming out of Burgundy, including bright, minerally Chardonnays from the Mâconnais. This bottle from Beaune-based négociant Louis Jadot retails for around $15. It’s one of the most popular French wines in America, made in a consistently enjoyable style year after year.
Tasting Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages
A light flinty note quickly gives way to aromas of golden apple, lemon crème, and dandelion. Ripe and poached apple and pear meet a surprisingly rich mouthfeel and some lemon-curd creaminess, all freshened by elevated acidity and a slice of firm nectarine.
This young Chardonnay is fully dry, with the barely detectable bitterness of nutmeg spice followed by a clean, chalky last sip. Its relative simplicity and brisk finish won’t have you seeing stars–but both are perfectly welcome at the table.
This 2024 bottling draws its Chardonnay from various limestone and chalk parcels in the Mâcon-Villages appellation. And yes, it’s vinified with no oak and no malolactic fermentation to avoid those banished flavors of butter and vanilla.
I poured myself a glass so I could be on-theme during a Zoom session on the Mâconnais offered by Napa Valley Wine Academy. After class time, it was dinner time.
I served the rest of the bottle alongside a homestyle chicken soup with rice. (Recipe below.) The round apple flavors complemented the natural sweetness of the carrots, while a lush velouté base provided all the missing butteriness.
Recipe: One-Pot Creamy Chicken Soup with Rice
Prepare a mirepoix from two celery ribs, 2-3 peeled carrots, and one small diced onion. In a large heavy-bottomed pan, melt 1/3 stick of butter. Cook the vegetables for a few minutes, being careful not to brown them. Add a few cloves of crushed garlic, if desired.
Stir in approximately 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, and gently cook until the pan is dry and the flour no longer smells raw. Deglaze with a little dry white wine.
Whisk about one quart of chicken stock into the roux, breaking up any lumps. Drop in a bay leaf and a stalk of fresh thyme (or a pinch of dried poultry herbs).
Bring the soup to a bare simmer and add one large chicken breast or 3-4 chicken tenderloins. Cook over low heat until the chicken is cooked throughout and tender (about 30-40 minutes), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove the meat and shred it, then add it back to the pot.
Just before serving, add a splash of heavy cream or half-and-half, and 3/4 cup cooked white rice. Stir and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook’s Notes
✔️ For best results, use a good-quality (preferably homemade) chicken stock. Packaged stock/broth is fine, too. Just hold off on adding salt until the end because some commercial brands are quite salty.
✔️ I prefer chicken thighs for bold stews, gumbos, and braises–but here, the milder chicken breasts allow the subtle flavors of the velouté to shine.
✔️ For a heartier meal, skip the rice and ladle the soup over cooked egg noodles.
Bottle: Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages Chardonnay (2024) – Burgundy, France
Variety: Chardonnay (100%)
ABV: 12.62%
Suggested retail: $15.99
My rating: 8.5 (out of 10)
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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