Y. Rousseau. Milady Chardonnay from Napa Valley

Tasting notes & discussion 16

24 HOUR SALE
Typically $45/bottle from Y Rousseau Wines
Vintage 2023 from Coombsville (Napa Valley)
Available for AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY
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About Y. Rousseau Wines: “Y. Rousseau Wines is a dream that began long ago in the South-West of France and continues to grow and evolve today. Yannick Rousseau, French native, founder and winemaker, followed his heart and passion for winemaking all the way to Napa Valley where he met his Texan-born wife, Susan. The two of them bring their combined entrepreneurial savvy to embrace the ebbs and flows of running a family winery with the legacy of their racines, hospitable style, and discriminating artisanship.”

Howdy, Milady!

TASTING NOTES: “Milady 2023 is made in Yannick’s preferred Burgundian style; balancing the superb, succulent fruit with the freshness that Coombsville appellation (one of the two coldest Napa Valley AVA) has to offer. A provocative, lively nose with aromas of litchi, ripe Anjou pear, zesty lemon meringue and a veil of jasmine with perfectly polished French oak suggests a wine that is lavish, yet invigorating. On the palate, the flavors are intricately layered with complexity and complemented by notes of lightly toasted hazelnuts.“

VARIETALS: Chardonnay

BARRELS: 11 months in French oak, 25% new.

PAIRS WITH: A “festive feast.”

THAT REMINDS ME OF: Milady.

Now, obviously it is a variant of “my lady,” the way you would use it back in old England to address a noblewoman or woman in a position of prestige. Later on it ended up applied to individuals beyond that scope, but there’s a little interesting twist in this.

See, “my lady” is a very English thing, but “milady” didn’t see its first significant use in English. It was actually a French way of saying “my lady.” Specifically, it is how a regular-old French person would refer to a traveling English noblewoman as “my lady.” The Italians similarly had “miledi.” The term managed to then transfer back over to English, as whatever gains popularity in France tends to.

So rather than being a simple contraction of “my lady,” there’s a fun bit of historical nuance there. The funny thing is that it was used for women perceived to be upper-class, though they may not actually be. As long as you acted fancy, you could get the milady or milord treatment.

Y. Rousseau. Milady Chardonnay from Napa Valley

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