White Wine Temperature Taste Test with a Chablis Laroche
Top Sommelier Wim De Schutter tested different serving temperatures for a white wine Chablis Laroche and clearly shows us that there is something like the “perfect serving temperature”
5°C - 41°F - Light peach flavor. Cold shock in the mouth (teeth). No basteen lance with the acids. Sharp acids.
7°C - 44.5°F - Still very fresh. Sharp acids.
8°C - 46.5°F - More flavors of peach and Granny Smith apple.
9°C - 48°F - Richer bouquet of stone fruit, apple and pear. Wine now gets more taste of apple. Acids are clearly present. Typical fresh mineral Chablis. Maybe a little too cold.
10°C - 50°F - A lot of white fruit and stone fruit. Now we have a nice balance of plumpness and acidity. Beautiful flavors of ripe fruit such as apple and pear. Minerality is certainly present. Personally this is the best serving temperature. Wine can comfortably endure a grade or 2 warmer (heating white wine goes reasonably smoothly in the glass).
“What a discovery at 10°C - 50°F. A nice balance of plumpness and acidity”
11°C - 52°F - Beautiful aromas and flavors of white fruit, stone fruit. Wine now tastes fuller. Acids are beautiful and ensure that the wine is not tired. Still a nice temperature to enjoy this Chablis.
12°C - 53.5°F - Beautifully aromatic now. The wine becomes richer, still good acid.
13°C - 55.5°F -Wine becomes heavier. The acids decrease, but are certainly still sufficiently present.
14°C - 57°F - Ripe pear in aroma. Wine is now plumper. Acids are a bit different, first you have the chubby onset and afterwards the acids, wine so a bit out of balance.
15°C - 59°F - Plump touch. The beautiful fruit disappears, as well as the fresh acid. Alcohol is perceptible in the aftertaste. This temperature is too warm for the Chablis.
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"Hi l am Wim, sommelier, and wine enthusiast just like you! My fellow sommeliers understand the importance of serving wine at the correct temperature. They know that if wine is too warm, it will lose its flavors and complexities, and if wine is served too cold, it will numb your taste buds. A few world renown sommeliers and myself will explain this further, and share some interesting (taste) case studies."