Do you need to know extra about chardonnay? In search of the most effective chardonnays to purchase? Our wine knowledgeable offers her recommendation on which bottles to select.
What’s Chardonnay?
At one time, it appeared that chardonnay was virtually shorthand for white wine. Served all over the place from the fanciest eating places to the dirtiest pubs, it was the popular alternative for a lot of drinkers.
A lot chardonnay got here from Australia, the place the sunny local weather was notably appropriate for top yields and dependable harvests. The Aussies made their chardonnays massive and ruddy, typically with alcohol ranges of 14% or extra, and often closely tinted with oak. It appeared we Brits could not get sufficient of it.
Then got here Bridget Jones within the hit 2001 film, knocking over buckets of the stuff to drown her many romantic worries. It was round this time that we grew to find it irresistible (though it is uncertain the blame will be positioned on Bridget), and ABC (Something However Chardonnay) grew to become our rallying cry as we shifted our allegiance to lighter, brisker pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc .
I used to be a kind of who averted the grape for a few years, however my affection for it has returned. Chardonnay will be a lot greater than these onerous oak bombs we drank again then – it is one of many world’s most generally planted grapes, grown in nearly each wine area and made into so many types. In France, the historic residence of chardonnay, it ranges from superbly lean and steely chablis to massive and buttery burgundies like premium (and high greenback) montrachets and meursaults. It is usually one of many primary champagne grapes and as such is featured in most of the world’s finest bubbles, together with our personal English glowing wine and franciacorta from Italy.
Whereas a few of the most prestigious chardonnays are fermented and/or aged in oak casks to impart their attribute creamy texture and toasty notes of vanilla and mellow spice, oak is usually used to masks low high quality base wine, typically utilizing closely toasted oak chips or staves to maintain manufacturing prices down, together with synthetic acid and/or sweeteners. Fortuitously, these clunky, over-processed chards are being changed by brisker, extra elegant types that go well with the fashionable drinker.
Chardonnays from the cooler elements of California, together with these from Chile, Argentina and South Africa, are all value looking for, though the latter three usually offer you extra bang on your buck. Australia’s provide has additionally come a great distance by way of high quality, particularly these from the Margaret River area, however for my cash it is New Zealand that ranks first amongst southern hemisphere producers each by way of high quality and worth . For many people, chardonnay was merely about “tasting the wooden,” because the Kiwis say. Now winemakers world wide are treating it with the respect it deserves and making chardonnays that when once more command our consideration.
One of the best chardonnay wines to purchase
Domaine Maire ‘Grand Heritage’ Chardonnay 2018
Oak-aged savagnin is added to chardonnay for depth. Notes of orchard fruit with citrus and ginger. Attempt it with tarragon butter hen.
Obtainable from:
Majestic (£14.99, £12.99 whenever you purchase six)
Florent Rouve Chardonnay Arbois
Fermented with indigenous yeasts in oak barrels for a chardonnay that sings of its terroir. Honeyed and barely spicy with minerality, scrumptious with creamy dishes.
Obtainable from:
Waitrose Cellar (£19.99)
Falasco Household Brotherhood Chardonnay 2018
From the Mendoza Valley in Argentina, excessive within the Andes, a scrumptious chardonnay that goes nicely with good white burgundy wines. Notes of pineapple, lemons and vanilla with a silky, buttery end.
Obtainable from:
The Secret Bottle Store (£23.95)
Tesco Best Chablis Premier Cru
Savory and structured with juicy orchard fruit and vibrant acidity softened by a refined contact of oak. Attempt our spaghetti alle vongole with samphire.
Obtainable from:
Tesco (£18)
Kaesler Stonehorse Chardonnay
Trendy Australian chardonnay that could be a world away from the onerous oak bombs of the previous. Full and beneficiant, however with clear and lemony fruit and a bit of little bit of warming spice.
Obtainable from:
Taurus Wines (£15.99)
Floral and fragrant with notes of lychee, quince and lime zest and a basic chablis mineral aftertaste. Give it a strive with our baked lemon hen recipe.
Obtainable from:
Asda (£12)
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