I have to say I never thought I’d enjoy getting naked so many times in a blog event, but these naked Chardonnays have been a really pleasant sent surprise. Stopping in at my local wine dealer I picked his brain about winning unoaked Chardonnays. His eyes lit up whilst he turned on his heal and walked to the corner piping ‘I’ve got just the thing.’ Immediately I thought I had been misheard because he walked over to the ‘New Zealand’ section – and we all know that New Zealand is waisting its time if it tries to make Chard, right? Well that’s what I would have thought til last night when I was presented with a bottle my merchant referred to as ‘Kiwi Chablis’ (Kiwi being antipodean slang for a New Zealander.) The store has one of those cool little flash-chiller’s for white wine, so I frosted the sucker up and walked home with a spring in my step (mainly because of the news that the the ring leader of the Texas Mafia, Karl Rove, is voluntarily getting his corrupt power-grubbing ass out the Whitehouse…) but also because I was excited about my new acquisition.

So without much further adieu I’d like to introduce the Grape Thinking’s Tuesday contender for Wine Blogger Wednesday: Te Henga Unoaked Chardonnay 2006. This wine has made me realize what a serious competitor New Zealand is going to be in the World Cup of Wine, because it shows the sheer scope of wine-making ability the vintners in New Zealand have – and with that, all of their wines are of a superior status, making them very hard to compete with in the white wine and Pinot Noir category. I think South Africa has a chance because we do Reds really well. But of course there’s France that does both red and white like no other – but heck, lets get back to WBW for now.

Chablis is to be enjoyed with Oysters – as its minerality and bone-dry profile compliment the texture and briney nature of fresh shucked oysters. Last year, Greg Sr. and I sat in Grand Central Oyster bar, slurping down Widow’s Hole oysters with Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc and it was simply magnificent. However – Te Henga Chardonnay is another serious oyster wine. The wine has been crafted by Joe Babich, and its as smooth as drinking chard will ever be – the flavor profile can be described as no less than immaculate, and puts many white Burgundy’s to shame with its grace.

It’s clean, fresh and dry, with an oyster-shell/ sea breeze minerality. This is a wine to buy by the case, and an even finer wine to see the back of Mr. Rove with.