A few years ago when I was just starting the Short Cellar, a friend asked me whether I’d learned my wine ABCs. When I gave him a quizzical look, he smiled and said, “The ABCs of wine are simple: Anything But Chardonnay”. Since then, I’ve met plenty of people, both wine afficianados and casual drinkers, who are skeptical about this white grape.
This is partially because of overexposure. Chardonnay is everywhere. There’s a deluge of it coming from virtually every wine producing country in the world, because it’s a hardy grape that’s easy to grow and not hard to turn into wine.
But Chardonnay has also garnered a bad name because it’s often abused. Unlike most white grapes, Chardonnay is amendable to being aged in wood. Proper aging in hand-made French or American oak barrels are expensive but imparts delicious notes of toast, vanilla, and coconut. But many big wineries have gone overboard with the “woody” flavours because they are catering to the palates of people who are more used to Coke than Chablis. They overexpose the wine to cheap barrels, or simply throw wood chips into the vats that ferment the wine. These crude techniques kill Chardonnay’s fruity acidity, making it seem heavy and cloying as cotton-candy. I find most cheap Chardonnays from Australia fit this description, and if that was all that was available, I’d stick to my ABCs too.
Thankfully, there’s a lot of great Chardonnay out there if you are willing to branch out from Yellow Tail and Lindemans. In fact, it’s my favourite summer-time sipper while I sit on the porch because it does not need food to be enjoyed, but still has a refreshing acidity. Here are some of my recent favourites (with the best coming first):
- Henry of Pelham 2006 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, Ontario ($19.95, Vintages #268342). A perfect example of the Chardonnay grape in harmony with oak influences, so that there is spicy complexity and body without sacrificing freshness and fruity vivacity. Rich butterscotch finish. Will only improve over 2-3 years. Henry of Pelham – please make all your wines this good.
- La Chablisienne 2004 “Les Vieilles Vignes”, Chablis, France ($24.95, Vintages Essential #942243). A lively and mouthwatering wine that has just a hint of oakiness to give it depth and complexity on the nose. It tastes of hard peaches and red apples with a hint of yoghurt. A classic Chardonnay in a restrained and dignified style.
- KWV 2005 “Cathedral Cellars” Chardonnay, South Africa ($14.95, Vintages #328559). A creamy Chardonnay that leans toward the heavy side, with ripe tropical fruits, lemon custard, peaches and burnt sugar. There’s a hint of the typical South African smokiness and spice to add extra personality.
- D’Arenberg 2006 The Olive Grove Chardonnay, Australia ($18.95, Vintages #702845). A generous bouquet of canned pineapples, blossoms and candied apple does not quite live up to a palate that is tight and a little sharp. You may enjoy the faint spritz of minerality, although it left an oddly metallic aftertaste in my mouth. Good, not great.
Matthew Sullivan is a lawyer with the Department of Justice in Toronto. He writes a weekly blog entry here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca