The newest Chardonnay from famed Sonoma producer Chateau St. Jean, hits shelves this month across the US. "Bijou" which means jewel in French is a lightly oaked Chardonnay sourced mainly from California's Central Coast vineyards and sits at a retail price of $14.
"Chateau St. Jean has built a 40-year reputation as one of California's leading Chardonnay producers. After conducting extensive sensory research on the Chardonnay consumer, we discovered that there are two distinctly different taste profiles that consumers identify with; the crisp / fruity / floral segment (lower oak) and the richer / rounder/ buttery segment with a higher oak profile.
Finding that the Chardonnay category is highly underserved by the first segment, we decided to launch a lightly oaked counterpart to our North Coast Chardonnay currently in market.
Looking to capitalize on the fast growing $10-14 Chardonnay segment and to provide an alternative style, Bijou is a natural extension to further Chateau St. Jean's leadership position in Chardonnay," said Barry Sheridan, Vice President of Marketing for Treasury Wine Estates.
Targeted at the female consumer, the inaugural 2013 vintage is 30,000 cases and is the first wine from Chateau St. Jean under screwcap.
"Our Bijou Chardonnay is crisp and elegant, driven by a core of forward fruit flavors with subtle nuances of French oak. The wine goes through malolactic fermentation giving it a rich texture balanced by bright acidity," said Margo Van Staaveren, Winemaker at Chateau St. Jean.
"The lightly oaked profile of the Bijou Chardonnay makes it very food friendly pairing well with a wide range of dishes," she added.
