See full version: 8 Big, Buttery Chardonnays That Are Actually Good
Located in Murrumbateman, Australia, this winery highlights Australia’s cool-climate wines. This wine balances buttery, spicy notes with flinty minerality, and really over-delivers for the price. Lovely with mushroom toast or risotto. Average price: $16.
Stag’s Leap is a Napa icon, and its Chardonnay is quintessential Napa Chardonnay. Expect notes of vanilla and caramel, tempered with lemon curd, white peach, and freshly picked lilacs. This is the perfect cheese-pairing wine, but also lovely with roast chicken or seared scallops. Average price: $25. [links]
This Sonoma Chardonnay is sleek but rich, with notes of vanilla, baked apple, hazelnut, and perfectly ripe pear. Perfect for a creamy chicken dish or even a B.L.T. if you feel like a high-low pairing. This wine is made with the oldest Chardonnay vines in the Stuhlmuller estate vineyard to lend richness and power. Average price: $48.
Photographer Jack Cakebread ventured to Napa 30 years ago for work and fell in love with the region. Today, his wines are among Napa’s most iconic bottles. This Chardonnay features Pippin apples on the nose and smoky, minerally flavors on the palate. Enjoy with a chicken panini or crab. Average price: $46. [links]
In the far north, just outside Auckland, Kumeu River Wines has carved its reputation for Chardonnay. Its premium bottlings can be tightly wound and austere when young, but morph into multifaceted beauties over many years. [links]
But Chardonnay country extends even farther, to the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais in southern Burgundy, where it yields profound wines from near identical soils that exemplify great value. here
Chardonnay has a long history in Washington, with the first vines planted in 1964. But in some respects, the state is still looking to establish its identity with the grape.
The state’s Chardonnay renaissance began quietly with the introduction of Dijon clones to the Willamette Valley almost 30 years ago. Decades later, with experimentation in clonal selection, site development and improved winery practices accomplished, the subtlety and intensity of Oregon’s best versions differentiate them from the crowded West Coast competition.
“I think we are much more elegant than California, just across the board, with a higher level of acidity,” says David Rosenthal, white winemaker for Chateau Ste. Michelle.
“I’m seeing the re-emergence of the fresh style,” says Eric Johnson, winemaker for Talley Vineyards. He’s made wine in San Luis Obispo County for 13 years. “The consumer is reacting favorably because there has been some consumer pushback on the big, oaky, viscous Chardonnays that, frankly, California is known for.” here
Chardonnay is big with the whole school of wine drinkers. Full-bodied, rich in fruit flavors and creamy, buttery texture in your mouth. It’s like having two proms! Sauvignon Blanc’s has admirers, but it’s a herbaceous wine, making demands on your palate, asking you to sign environmental waivers, and question your position. They’re familiar characters, and we can help you figure out which one you see in yourself.
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Grown all over the world, the most familiar flavors in Chardonnay come from grapes grown in France. When tasting, you will almost always get the flavor of apple upfront on the palate. Often it will be apple plus something else — pineapple, butter, or lemon are all common and depend on the grape’s cultivated soil. The other factor is whether the wine has been oaked.
Aromas of pineapple, banana and butterscotch are voluptuous. The tropical theme continues on the palate with bright pineapple and Meyer lemon, a touch of vanilla and a pleasant minerality. The malolactic fermentation gives the wine an undeniably soft, almost plush texture.
Origin: Willamette Valley, Oregon, U.S.A.
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Price: $40
ABV: 13.9% more
This Reserve Chardonnay is a wine to remember with its notes of citrus zest and tropical flowers on the nose. Its flavors don’t disappoint, offering a lush, oily mouthfeel and layers of Meyer lemon, apple and hints of spice and vanilla.
Fruity and easy to drink, Chardonnays can be paired with just about any dish involving eggs, fish or fowl. This popular white wine generally comes in two styles: showing either a steely, fruitlike and crisp character or barrel-fermented, rounder and buttery flavors.
If you don’t know Russian River Valley Chardonnay, this wine will make a stellar introduction. It makes our list of the best Chardonnay wines for its beautiful structure and complexity. here
Lovers of Oregon wine are probably familiar with the Ponzi name, but as a Pinot Noir producer. Although the winery is best known for classic Willamette reds, they also make noteworthy Chardonnays. here