Cessy's 2024 Chardonnay was picked at the moment the fruit asked to be picked — about ten days earlier than the prior vintage. That decision, more than any cellar choice, is what determines how this wine wants to sit on the table.
What follows are the working notes we share with sommeliers and friends who ask the same question every harvest: what should I put on the table next to this bottle?
Does it pair with red meat?
Not directly. The 2024 doesn't have the weight to stand up to braises or beef. Pair it with the lighter accompaniments instead — a citrus salad, a green herb sauce, a chilled tomato gazpacho.
What about cheese?
Lean fresh and soft. Goat cheese, young pecorino, ricotta. Avoid aged hard cheeses — they overpower the wine's stone-fruit center.
| Course | Recommended pairing | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Starters | Oysters, ceviche, citrus salads | Cured meats |
| Mains | Whitefish, scallops, herb risotto | Red meat, heavy cream sauces |
The vintage tells you what the wine wants to do. Our job is to listen and then get out of its way.
If you take only one thing from this note: pour it cold, pour it generously, and don't ask it to do anything it wasn't grown to do.
