Chardonnay is a strangely divisive grape variety. For many, it’s simply the wine grape that makes the best white wines in the world – those from Burgundy, and the Côte d’Or in particular, being regularly quoted as examples of its greatness. Yet, I’ve often met wine lovers who say they will drink ‘ABC’ (Anything but Chardonnay). So, who is right? The answer is complicated.
Unlike many grape varieties that need a particular climate and soil conditions to give of their best, Chardonnay will thrive almost anywhere where grapes will grow; it ripens reliably in cool areas such as Chablis (and, these days, even in England) but retains its freshness in the baking heat of Australia’s inland vineyards. But the styles of wine produced vary dramatically with the temperature.
However, every bit as important as the effect of climate on the taste of Chardonnay is what happens in the winery. Winemakers often see the grape as a blank canvas on which to weave their magic – magic that frequently involves the use of oak barrels (or, more mundanely, oak staves or chips) to create flavours that the grapes alone wouldn’t possess. From the 1990s until the early 2010s, there was a trend towards more and more invasive use of oak dominating the fruit. Perhaps this is when the ABCs tasted their Chardonnay?
More recently, thankfully, many producers have significantly dialled back their use of oak to produce a wine where any oak flavour is much more subtle, often barely noticeable, but just used to round out a wine and give it an attractive, mildly spicy or savoury character. Mission Estate’s Reserve Chardonnay from Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand (Wine Society, £13.95) is an excellent example of this style. Yes, it spends 9 months in French oak barrels, but these impart little overt oakiness to the wine just a delightful richness and mouth-filling character to complement, but not overpower, the lovely peachy and soft grapefruit flavours.
This is oaked Chardonnay as is should be. I wonder if I can tempt any ABCs to try it?
Wine talks and tastings 