Le Moderato 2023 Non-alcoholic Chardonnay

A lovely ‘old world’ style chardonnay from Le Moderato’s ‘Cuvée Revolutionnaire’ series.   - bold yet elegant, oaky but nuanced. 

This chardonnay saw 4 months in new French oak. A famous BC chardonnay maker once told us that paradoxically, more time in oak sometimes results in a more subtle oak character - 6 months or less will result in a big bold and brassy oak notes. This definitely rings true here - the oak is the star of the show, both on the nose and on the palate.

When you open the bottle, you might get a bit of a cave-aged cheese funk, but with a few minutes in the glass this mellows out, leaving a pleasingly fatty nose, reminiscent of baked brie and buttered toast. 

On the palate, the wine is medium bodied and not too acidic - it has a pleasingly oily texture, with notes of baked yellow apple and toasty wood. I found myself going back for “just one more splash” more than once - there are layers to this non-alcoholic wine that make for an engaging sipping experience. 

ABV: 0.5%

Ingredients: 97% de-alcoholised wine, 3% rectified reconstituted grape must, preservative E242 (dimethyl dicarbonate)

About the producer:

le Moderato is a line of de-alcoholised wines from the Gascogne (Gascony) region of France. (Southwest coastal region including Bordeaux.) You’ll see typical grapes from the region such as Tannat and Colombard featured in these unique blends. 

The brand was founded in 2020 by two friends with family ties to drinkmaking in the region. (Cognac, to be specific.) They initially explored low-alcohol wines before seeing the challenge and potential in going fully non-alcoholic. (Up to .5% ABV)

The wines are selected from various growers and vinifiers in the region, and are de-alcoholised using low-temperature vacuum distillation, which aims to preserve the more delicate aromas present in the wines. The wines are blended post-de-alcoholisation so they can better control the final flavour profile.

"Moderato is a French-born brand striving to reconcile the pleasure of wine and responsible drinking."