Villa à la Mer Alcohol-Removed Chardonnay
60/100 How we score
Verdict
Editorial VerdictPale, still, and so slight that the finish is the absence of one. No oak, no fruit, and almost nothing to taste.
Verified facts
Evidence: Documented · 5 sources
- Sourced ABV <0.5% Bottle
- Sourced Classification Hybrid Bottle
- Sourced Method Vacuum distillation Producer documentation
- Sourced Origin France Bottle
At a glance
- Structure
- No tannin
- Very light
- Short finish
- Thin
- Still
- Mouthfeel
Watery and still. No cream, no spritz, and no grip.
- What stands out
Pale, still, and nearly flavorless. The grape is on the label only.
- How wine-like is it?
It does not taste like Chardonnay. It tastes like very little.
- Perfect for
Reading the method. Not a dinner wine.
Tasting notes
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Nose
Almost nothing. A faint, neutral smell, closer to cold water than to Chardonnay. No oak, no butter, and no ripe fruit to find even if you warm the glass.
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Palate
Thin and quiet. The sip does not turn sweet, bitter, or particularly acid. There is no mid-palate, because almost nothing arrives. Body sits at the bottom of the scale. A still wine with this little flavor has nowhere to hide, and this one does not try.
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Finish
It leaves immediately. Clean only because there was nothing to clean up. No grape skin, no warmth, and no echo of the fruit the producer writes into the grape paragraph.
The wine
A still Chardonnay with the alcohol taken out. In the glass it is pale, quiet, and almost gone.
The nose is nearly absent. A faint, neutral smell, closer to cold water than to Chardonnay. No oak, no butter, and no ripe fruit, even if you let the glass warm. There is nothing to name and nothing that develops.
The palate is thin and still. The sip does not turn sweet, bitter, or particularly acid. There is no mid-palate, because almost nothing arrives. Body sits at the bottom of the scale. A still wine with this little flavor has nowhere to hide, and this one does not try. Mouthfeel is watery. No cream, no spritz, and no grip where the alcohol used to be.
The finish leaves immediately. It is clean only because there was nothing to clean up. No grape skin, no warmth, and no echo of fruit. Serve it chilled. Cold does not rescue a flavor that is not there. It only makes the wateriness feel deliberate.
This does not taste like Chardonnay. It tastes like very little. The score is for that absence, not for a flaw you can point at. There is almost nothing to taste, and chilling it will not invent a fruit the glass does not have.
How to drink it
Serve chilled. After opening, keep it refrigerated and finish it within 48 hours.
How it was made
Classification Hybrid
Evidence status Documented
Sources disagree on the following points.
- Sugar: The back label prints 4 g total sugars and 2 g added sugars per 5 fl oz (150 ml). villa-a-la-mer.com says the wines have no added sugar and only the sugars of the grape juice.
- Ingredients: The back label lists dealcoholized French Chardonnay wine (85%), fresh Chardonnay grape juice (15%), and sulfites. villa-a-la-mer.com says the wines have no additives. Vivino also says this Chardonnay contains sulfites. The label is the ingredient list.
- Method: The back label confirms the wine is alcohol-removed and does not name the technique. villa-a-la-mer.com describes pipes, then a vacuum distillation column. The method on this record is the site, not the label.
Product record history
Sourced changes and open disagreements. Prior claims stay on the record when sources conflict.
Product record history
- Reviewed and published.
- Open Sugar — The back label prints 4 g total sugars and 2 g added sugars per 5 fl oz (150 ml). villa-a-la-mer.com says the wines have no added sugar and only the sugars of the grape juice.
- Open Ingredients — The back label lists dealcoholized French Chardonnay wine (85%), fresh Chardonnay grape juice (15%), and sulfites. villa-a-la-mer.com says the wines have no additives. Vivino also says this Chardonnay contains sulfites. The label is the ingredient list.
- Open Method — The back label confirms the wine is alcohol-removed and does not name the technique. villa-a-la-mer.com describes pipes, then a vacuum distillation column. The method on this record is the site, not the label.
Sources
Product facts are only as strong as their sources. Editorial tasting notes are opinion.
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Bottle / can label
Back label of the tasted bottle prints less than 0.5% alcohol. The producer site says alcohol-free and does not print the figure.
Verified facts -
The label does not name the technique. On the producer site, pipes separate alcohol and water from the wine; the extract then goes through a vacuum distillation column at low temperature and the water is returned. The same page says pasteurized, no artificial aromas, no additives. The back label lists sulfites. See discrepancies.
Verified facts -
A photograph of the bottle barcode was not sharp enough to read. It is not used as the EAN. The Amazon model number stays in identifiers until the bars are read cleanly. The sparkling brut uses a different model number.
Verified facts
Additional citations & background
Keep tasting
Other Chardonnay
60/100 How we score