Words of Sommeliers

Pleasant and fresh wine…

Regarding the analytical tasting of it, the wine is clear, day bright, with a lemon colour of medium intensity denoting youth and freshness, forming beautifully seductive tears that flows slowly down the glass. Attractive indeed!
It has a fresh and fruity nose, discrete but typical, youthful, with bruised apples, white flowers and citrus peel, complemented by a slight minerality, reminding of flint and brine. The palate is deliciously dry, with restrained alcohol and juicy acidity, presenting a medium body with lots of citrus, lemon juice, crisp green apples, with minerality and sapidity, good balance and long finish.
Such a pleasant and fresh wine definitely calls for food, food as fresh and exquisite as the wine. Look for Brazilian food and ingredients for such a pairing is no challenge; this Chablis calls for sea, and Brazil has thousands of kilometres of it!
Chablis is among my favourite white wines, with character and racy acidity, making of it the purest expression of Chardonnay. Despite the fact that it is not naturally an expressive grape, Chardonnay can deliver focus and freshness, especially in the cool climate of Chablis, making wines that are not only attractive, but an absolute must go if you look for versatility in wine and food pairing and also a great option for an aperitif.
From the waters surrounding the island of Santa Catarina, where the city of Florianopolis is located, we can source juicy, fat, and flavourful oysters, simply perfect with no more than a splash of lime and a glass of Chablis.
Another delicacy of Brazilian coastal cities, present throughout the country, but particularly famous in Rio de Janeiro’s bars, is the shrimp pastel. Pastel is a kind of fried dumpling, but quite bigger than Asian dumplings; the shrimp version has typically a creamy shrimp filling, made with small to medium shrimps, intense in flavour, setting a nice contrast with the freshness and finesse of this great Chablis.
Just a bit further North, throughout the coastal cities of North-eastern Brazil, we find another delicacy that makes a great match with this Chablis, Casquinha de Siri, grated crab meat, seasoned with, among other ingredients, coconut milk, dende oil and coriander leaves, The creamy texture and the grated crust can have a perfect balance with the crisp texture and thirst quenching acidity of our Chablis, making each bite tastier than the previous one.