Joseph Drouhin St. Veran 2019

WSET-Style Notes

The wine appears pale lemon.

It has medium intensity on aroma, with jasmine, golden apples, lemon, lime, wet stone, light butter, yogurt, pastry, and light honey.

On the palate, it is medium plus intensity. The wine is dry, high acid, medium alcohol, full bodied, with a long finish. I taste apple, lemon, butter, pastry, peach, grapefruit, flint, vanilla, and honey.

I assessed the wine as developing and with potential to age some more, though the bottle is comes with a screwcap. I believe the wine to be very good, and arguably outstanding.

Experiential Notes

Joseph Drouhin’s St. Veran is an elegant oaked Chardonnay. The oak and malolactic fermentation gives rich notes of butter, vanilla, and pastry that do not detract from the apple, citrus, and floral characteristics in this wine. This Burgundian white is attractive for the sum of its parts. Its complexity rewards attention by revealing subtler aromas and flavors, yet does not demand total concentration for enjoyment. I had this wine with a Carbonara, and could imagine it pairing well with swordfish or even a grilled pork chop.

I recommend this wine for drinkers who enjoy balance. Although balance is seen as an objectively “good” quality, that may not be everyone’s preference. Drinkers with an absolute dislike of the buttery and pastry characteristics of Chardonnay might still want to steer clear of this wine. Interestingly, I might not introduce this bottle to a drinker who enjoys extreme butteriness either, as this wine might feel like a let-down.

I purchased this wine for $17.99 at K&L. Considering this level of quality, as well as the premium that Burgundy usually extracts, I thought this St. Veran had fantastic value.