The Stop Gap Chardonnay

Anybody who has anything to do with The Wine Society, whether you are a member, a journalist or innocent bystander, will no-doubt be aware of 'The Society's White Burgundy'.

The relatively inexpensive Burgundy has always gone down a storm, being undoubtably the Society's most popular white wine, however with the new list that The Wine Society has just released, the price has gone up from £8.25 to £9.50 per bottle.

Perhaps knowing that this will cause a stir, despite having no choice but to put the price up, due to hugely decreased yields in Burgundy over the last few years, the clever folks at TWS have released a new wine onto the market, blended by Marcel Orford-Williams, from the Society's team of highly experienced buyers.

The Stop Gap Chardonnay 2013 Vin de France is a blend of fruit from Beaujolais and the Languedoc and has reportedly been brought into the list as a literal 'Stop Gap' at a time when there is high demand for French Chardonnay, while the classic Society's White Burgundy may no longer be within some people's budget.

This is all well and good BUT, is it actually decent stuff?

Yes.

The End

...OK, Laura says I have to write more...

I must admit, when I first heard about this wine, I was a little sceptical but keen to give it a go none-the-less. When I tasted it though, I was genuinely surprised at how enjoyable it actually is. At £6.50 there aren't many wines that take you away to sitting by a pool, on a hot summer's day, vino in one hand and an ice-cream in the other*. The Stop Gap Chardonnay however, immediately made me think of just that. 

Although it may lack in a little depth, compared to it's Burgundian counterpart, there is certainly a good amount of mouth-watering stone and tropical fruit on the palate, which is crisp and very refreshing. Often, in the mid-summer, you want to drink nothing more than something cold, fruity and easy - and this certainly ticks all of those boxes, plus some.

The fruit is delicious and actually develops surprisingly well as you drink it. The fact that the grapes have been selected from two very different areas really brings another dimension to the bottle and in my opinion, it is well up there as one of the best value whites on the UK market at the moment. (Yep, I just made that BOLD statement)

The Stop Gap Chardonnay 2013 is available from The Wine Society for £6.50 - pick up a bottle while the weather stays nice!


*This wine probably doesn't match too well with ice-cream...