Chardonnay

According to market studies (thru the end of 2016), the wine you will most likely put in your cart at your local wine shop is Chardonnay (yes, even more likely than the top red – Cabernet Sauvignon). This trend continues. However, it is worth noting that by the time you get to the register, you will have more red wine in your cart than white, and you will have a wider range of red varietals than whites. Part of Chardonnay’s popularity stems from the fact that the whites in the cart are most likely one of only three varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio (Gris), and Sauvignon Blanc.

Despite it’s popularity, you are more likely to overhear someone saying, “I don’t like Chardonnay,” than you are to hear the same said of Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. If you have given up on Chardonnay, or you are avoiding it, now might be a good time to give it another try.

Chardonnay is a very versatile grape and it is this versatility that leads to its many treatments – and therein may be the source of your displeasure with it. You may well dislike the style rather than the grape itself.  

Chardonnay can be aged in wood, stainless steel, or concrete. Regardless of the vessel used, it can be aged on or off its lees; and, it can undergo Malolactic Fermentation (MLF).

In stainless steel, Chardonnay will generally display green apple and citrus along with a tart acidity, with warmer climate versions picking up pear, and tropical fruit notes. It is not entirely different from something between a Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc, minus the grassy-to-herbal character of the latter.

If concrete is used, it feels larger and slightly rounder, but with softer texture on the palate. If the wine is aged in oak, woody flavors with vanilla/caramel notes enter the mix. Note that I did not say creamy or buttery. Many mistakenly believe that this comes from the oak. It doesn’t. If oak barrels are used they could be new or they could be in their 2nd to 5th year of use. The newer the oak the more noticeable the oak character of the wine produced. Conversely, 5 year old barrels will impart only subtle oak notes, some roundness, and hints of vanilla perhaps.

Creamy and buttery comes from Malolactic Fermentation (MLF). MLF occurs when bacteria are injected into the wine. These bacteria convert the malic acid to lactic acid. Malic acid is what you get when you bite into a Granny Smith apple, while lactic acid is the acidity found in cheese products. MLF produces wine that has a smooth and creamy texture and rounded, creamy to buttery fruit flavors.

The lees are the residual (dead) yeast cells that are a by-product of fermentation process. If the wine is allowed to age on its lees (the term for this is French – “sur lie”), the wine will pick up additional texture and body, as well as some degree of yeasty, bready, cakey or nutty flavors.

An acre of Chardonnay vines could yield 9 or 10 barrels of wine, which can be treated differently, and then blended before bottling. Two barrels could be aged in new oak, and the balance in 3 to 4 year old barrels, or 5 could be new and 4 could be 2 – 3 year old barrels. The latter will be noticeably more oaky than the former.  

The same can be true of MLF and sur lie aging. The wine will be very creamy if all 9 barrels undergo MLF, and obviously less so if only 3 barrels undergo MLF. Similarly, a wine can age on its lees for a couple of weeks or a few months, or some barrels could age sur lie while others might be taken off the lies upon the completion of fermentation.

But how will all of this help you give Chardonnay a(nother) chance?  

If all of the creamy/buttery/woody stuff turns your taste buds off, try a well-rated bottle of Chablis. Chablis is 100% Chardonnay, and receives little, but mostly no, “treatment.” It is most often done in stainless with no MLF or sur lie aging. It is remarkably fresh and crisp. You can also try domestic unoaked Chardonnays. Because of the climatological differences the domestic will show a little more roundness and more tropical notes. Also some undergo partial MLF which adds pleasant ever so slightly creamy notes, which you may like as well.

Domestic Chardonnay production has turned away from the heavily oaked, buttery versions of 10 years ago toward a more refined and balanced presentation where the fruit and not the affects are the star. And there is always France – where many St. Veran and Pouilly-Fuissé provide restraint and great value.