By the Bordeaux Chauvinist, guest sommelier columnist for World Wine Watch
This column was originally published (on a Friday) on the Bordeaux Chauvinist’s website, Cquoi ce vin, or What is this wine? He advises on good value for money wines of all appellations, regions and countries (but he remains a Bordeaux Chauvinist). World Wine Watch has republished in time for the October 31 full Moon, known as the “Blue Moon”.
It is Friday, and on Fridays, it’s fish! at least that’s how it is with me! For tonight I will serve a Clos des Lunes, Lune D’Argent 2016 bought at Auchan Bouliac for € 9.99.
As a (very) chauvinist Bordelais, I still consider that the best dry white wines in the world are our Burgundian friends, so by choosing this AOC Bordeaux, especially in 2016, I expected an oxidized wine, at the end of the race …Big mistake!
The color is straw yellow with silver reflections. The first nose reveals aromas of candied lemon and acacias followed by a second nose of white flowers accompanied by light vanilla notes. The attack is fresh, with aromas of candied yellow fruits, the mid-palate is full-bodied with a finish with notes of honey and hazelnut.
The wine is a blend of 70% Semillon and 30% Sauvignon, aged on lees and in barrels, vinified by the team of Olivier Bernard, owner of Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac-Léognan. I am going to pair this wine with snacked scallops, coated with a white truffle cream. If you are not lucky enough to live in Bordeaux, check wine stores in your region anyway. Good tasting or Bonne dégustation!
Editor’s note: Clos des Lunes offers a collection of fine dry white wines from the legendary Sauternes region in Bordeaux for all price levels. The collection includes Lune D’Argent (Silver Moon), which joins the flagship white, Lune D’Or (Gold Moon), and one for everyday drinking, the Lune Blanche (White Moon).
Adrien Bernard of the label’s owner Domaine De Chevalier says the 2017 Lune D’Argent may be better drinking now than the 2016 as the wines can age. Australians can buy here.
Says Adrien of the label’s name: “The name comes originally from a family brainstorming that brought us to the moon. The moon influencing every vineyard in the world. The moon being over the head of every wine lover in the world.
“We produce three cuvée with Lune d’Argent being the one you will see most often. Argent (silver) being one of the colour the moon will dress with during the evening.
“A full dedication to the white wines obviously of Bordeaux but as well and very importantly Sauternes. And to my father.”
Sauternes is located in the Graves sub-region of Bordeaux. The area is named after its gravelly soil. While the area is famous for its sweet whites, the dry whites too feature prominently in Graves and in this part of Bordeaux, where Sauvignon Blanc is said to have originated. The three main grapes used in Sauternes whites are Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle.
As for the full moon, it happens on October 31, on Halloween, appearing “opposite” the Sun. Also known as the Hunter’s Moon or a Micro Blue Moon, the moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Thursday night through Sunday night, making this a full moon weekend, an ideal time to drink Clos Des Lunes wines, a label for each night the moon appears full! Ideal drinking and viewing, especially with Mars being so close to the moon and so bright and visible. According to NASA, good viewing of Jupiter and Saturn are possible with a backyard telescope.
If you are in the time zones to the east towards the International Dateline (so in Australia in NZ), this full moon will be on November 1, 2020.
According to NASA: “With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, this was the time to hunt. Since the harvesters had reaped the fields, hunters could easily see the animals that have come out to glean (and the foxes that have come out to prey on them). The earliest use of the term “Hunter’s Moon” cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1710.”
