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Photo: Querciabella, Kenzo Estate and Domaine Ponsot
White wine never goes out of style, yet it is often relegated to the second tier among Singapore’s vinophiles who prefer the heft and tannins of red wine.
While a Leflaive Montrachet chardonnay or Screaming Eagle sauvignon blanc may breach the $10,000 and $5,000 bottle mark respectively, many cognoscenti are unaware of the long-lived, evocative examples from other producers around the world.
Though riesling is still queen and chardonnay king, grapes ranging from aligoté to viognier have noble histories and bright futures ahead.
As Manfred Ing, winemaker at Querciabella summarises: “The qualities that make a white wine great or legendary are precision, freshness on the palate with depth of fruit, and textural complexities that change and evolve with time and allow the wine to age gracefully.” With the exception of Chateau Grillet, which crafts only one wine, and Maison Trimbach, a Riesling specialist, the rest of the wineries below have chosen to make serious whites alongside their (often) more famous reds.
Historial whites
Credit: Domaine Ponsot managed to keep its aligoté vines from 1911.
France — Aligoté (Domaine Ponsot)
Aligoté is the resurgent star of the Côte de Nuits. Once known as the base wine for kir (a Burgundian aperitif ) — summarised as “minor, inconsequential, wan, and harshly acidic” by critics including Eric Asimov — it has rocketed to stratospheric levels in the hands of Charles Lachaux, the current cult winemaker in the Vosne-Romanée. Costing under $100 for the debut bottles of 2018 to over $1,000 for the 2020 vintage, the Charles Lachaux Aligoté Les Champs d’Argent brings taut minerality and salinity to the forefront, and bottles are somewhat difficult to come by.
A more historical aligoté can be found in Morey-Saint-Denis, where Domaine Ponsot’s Clos des Monts Luisants was the only Premier Cru aligoté until very recently. The grape variety was only authorised in 2010, solely for the climat Monts Luisants. According to Rose-Marie Ponsot, after phylloxera devastated vineyards in the early 1900s, Burgundy winemakers planted the more lucrative chardonnay on their best hillside terroir, turning away from aligoté which is a more difficult though historically relevant variety. Says Ponsot: “Aligoté is a flagship grape variety from Burgundy. Genomic studies have shown that it is the result of a cross between the medieval gouais blanc and pinot noir, just like its big brother chardonnay.”
In 1911, the domaine’s founder William Ponsot decided to replant his plot of white grapes in Clos des Monts Luisants exactly as it had been when he acquired the vineyard in 1872, which contained aligoté. However, when the Burgundy appellation system was created in 1936, aligoté was excluded and this marked its decline in fine white terroirs. Ponsot explains: “Confined for several decades in the lower terrain that was more suited for forage crops than good wines, it gained a reputation as a poor grape variety.”
It was William’s godson, Hippolyte Ponsot, who fought for the Domaine Ponsot Clos des Monts Luisants to be an exception. The authorities tolerated the existing vines on the condition that should any replantation or replacement of vines take place, it would be with chardonnay. Fortunately, the deadline for the uprooting was never specified. Says Rose-Marie Ponsot: “This is why, to this day, we have maintained 80 per cent of our old, precious 1911 aligoté plants.”
Domaine Ponsot Clos des Monts Luisants 2020 ($229) and 2019 ($214) from www.wine-clique.com
Credit: Château-Grillet is a single producer of a single appellation.
France — Viognier (Château-Grillet)
Largely known by word of mouth, Château-Grillet is one for the insiders, with its grand cru-like quality often compared to white Burgundy. The 3.5-ha property on the right bank of the northern Rhône has a long history, evinced by a visit from Thomas Jefferson in 1787 and purchases from nobility in France and England in the 1800s.
In 1936, its owner succeeded in obtaining status as one of the first French appellations and also one of the smallest, in addition to being a monopole. This makes it uniquely placed as a single producer of a single appellation, a status similar to that of Romanée-Conti. In 2011, the property was purchased by Francois Pinault and placed in the elite portfolio of Artémis Domaines, which includes Château Latour and Clos de Tart.
Says Wine Culture’s executive director Renny Heng: “Among our fine white wines (are those from) Château-Grillet, one of the most historic and rare estates in the world which is dedicated to viognier. We notice that our customers are quite astute about white wine, and would collect each vintage of Château-Grillet for their cellars, alongside their collection of Burgundies.”
Château-Grillet ($548) from wineculture.com.sg
Preserving the taste of tradition
France — Riesling (Maison Trimbach)
Since 1919, Clos Ste Hune has held its reputation as one of Alsace’s most sought after rieslings with proven ageability. Taking its name from the fortified Church of Hunawhir or Ste Hune Church, the tiny singular vineyard plot is located within the Rosacker grand cru, and falls under careful stewardship of winemakers from the family itself — currently Pierre and Julien Trimbach.
Jean Trimbach, the 12th generation of Maison Trimbach, notes that the style of the Clos Ste Hune has not changed but has slowly evolved with the vines getting older and the introduction of organic viticulture in 2008. “It remains intense, generous but compact with lots of energy and minerality due to its calcareous degraded sea shell soil called Muschelkalk,” he elaborates. “This vineyard has been in our family for over 200 years now operated by the 12th and 13th generations. To us, riesling is the only grape variety which mirrors terroir at its best and which pairs so well with all foods of the world. While it adapts to climate changes, we shall need to back up its capability to adapt to heat with calm and intelligence.”
Maison Trimbach Clos Ste Hune 2017 is the latest release. Due to limited allocations, this and previous vintages are reserved for Michelin- starred restaurants such as Odette, Les Amis and La Dame de Pic, and top hotels such as Shangri-La Singapore and Swissôtel the Stamford.
“While riesling adapts to climate changes, we shall need to back up its capability to adapt to heat.”
Jean Trimbach
Credit: Marques de Murrieta’s Capellania shines in a region where red wine dominates. (Photo: Marqués de Murrieta)
Spain — Viura (Marqués de Murrieta)
Described by the house of Marqués de Murrieta as a “white wine with a red wine soul”, Capellanía is their flagship and rare Rioja blanc in a region where red wine accounts for 90 per cent of the production. Marques de Murrieta previously produced the Castillo Ygay White, the only Spanish white wine to receive 100 Parker points in 1986. Veering from extended years-long oak ageing, Capellanía subtly updated its style with more balanced 24-month barrel ageing, while still using 100 per cent viura grapes from the 6-hectare Capellanía plot which is located at the highest altitude of the Ygay Estate. The grapes come from vines that are 70 years old, and are gently treated to obtain its fresh, voluminous and complex style.
Marqués de Murrieta Capellanía 2017, price to be determined, arriving in May 2023 from grandvin.com.sg
New roots abroad
Credit: Querciabella’s Batàr is a white for red wine drinkers. (Photo: Querciabella)
Italy — Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc (Querciabella)
A gem in the heart of the Chianti Classico DOCG, Querciabella has a secret “Burgundian” white comprising chardonnay and pinot blanc among its sangiovese. As cellar master Manfred Ing recounts: “Sebastiano, Giuseppe Castiglioni’s son and current owner of Querciabella, tells us stories of visiting top producers, tasting from barrels and how there was always a bottle of great burgundy open at every lunch.” When a small vineyard of pinot bianco was identified above the winery, the family experimented with a unique wine in the style of Batard-Montrachet grand cru. The small quantity of 1988 grapes were used to produce 300 bottles and the legend of atàr was born.
“Batàr is a white for red wine drinkers, not only from the style it is produced in, but also from the textural components that develop during its maturation in oak barrels for nine months. The 2019 Batàr, still in its infancy, has gorgeous ripe pear fruit density with tangerine aromatics, hints of jasmine and chamomile combined with precision and nuance, and the texture of roasted almonds that will only further soften with time,” he enthuses. A few necessary changes have been made in the face of climate change, with a focus on canopy and soil management to fully ripen grapes in drought-like conditions, renewed commitment to biodynamic practices, as well as reducing new oak ageing from 50 per cent to 10 to 15 per cent to keep the freshness in the expression.
Querciabella Batàr Toscana IGT 2018 ($132.68) from www.richfieldbrands.com
Credit: The wines from Château-Grillet were bought by French and English nobility in the 1800s.
South Africa — Chenin Blanc (Sadie Family Wines)
Chenin blanc has over a thousand years of history in the Loire Valley, where it is vinified dry, sweet or sparkling to great effect. Connoisseurs of the Loire typically hone into the Savennieres appellation and Nicolas Joly’s family of wines. On the other side of the world, however, chenin blanc has adapted to South Africa, making it the country with the most plantings of chenin after France.
The Sadie Family Wines estate might seem relatively new, having been founded in 1999, but Eben Sadie is one of the drivers behind the revival of Swartland wines, most notably its old vine varieties. Sadie’s Mev Kirsten Chenin Blanc is named after the owner of the Jonkershoek Valley vineyard, which was planted between 1905 and 1920, making it likely the oldest chenin blanc on the Western Cape. The winemaker notes that he has been vinifying this vineyard since 2006 and has invested in improving it in terms of soil health and interplanting of vines. “Over the past 15 years the wine has gained elegance carried by immense texture, density and power,” he describes, urging consumers to give it time in the bottle to age further.
Sadie Family Wines Mev Kirsten Chenin Blanc 2020 is available in very limited quantities to trade partners and distributed by ampelia.com.sg
Credit: Asatsuyu is Kenzo Estate’s signature sauvignon blanc. (Photo: Kenzo Estate)
US — Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay (The Hilt, Kenzo Estate)
You don’t have to choose between favourite styles, whether Burgundian or Bordeaux, when in California, where the diverse Mediterranean terroir allows many varieties to be made at all price points. With Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc having a years-long waiting list, its sister winery The Hilt offers a signature Californian chardonnay at a much more enticing price point.
An independent Japanese project, Kenzo Estate, brought consultant David Abreu (of Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate fame) and winemaker Heidi Barrett (also of Screaming Eagle) onboard to match the best terroir and varietals together, resulting in a flagship sauvignon blanc named asatsuyu.
The Hilt Chardonnay Old Guard 2016 ($172) from grandcruwines.com Kenzo Estate Asatsuyu 2021 ($70.20, 375ml) from vinumfinewines.com
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