Chardonnay
“le vin du monde”
“Chardonnay is one of the many grape varieties that France has bestowed on the world, both as a part of France’s cultural heritage and as an example of its good taste. We can all be thankful for this gift.”
D. Boubals (Chardonnay du Monde)
After completing this session you should know:
- The description and technical characteristics of the class.
- The most famous area in the world for growing chardonnay.
- What ‘ABC’ means with respect to chardonnay.
- What chardonnay has in common with red wines.
- A few names of some of the top chardonnay regions.
- Typical descriptors of chardonnay.
- Some foods that pair well with chardonnay.
D1. Chardonnay
A white wine to be consumed with food. Wines must contain at least 85% chardonnay.
Technical Characteristics
Ingredients: Grapes
Alcohol: 9% - 13.5%
Colour: Pale straw to golden. No amber, brown or grey tinges.
Sugar: 0.0% - 1.0%
Specific Gravity: 0.990 - 0.998
Acidity: 6.5 g/L - 8.5 g/L pH: 3.0 - 3.7
Overview
Though it is one of the noble grapes, chardonnay was relatively unknown as a varietal name until the 1980’s. Prior to that time, it was only known by the geographical names where it was used, i.e. Chablis, Montrachet or Mersault. Chardonnay is a rather unique grape as it is one of the very few white wine grapes that can benefit from oak aging and ML treatment. This grape serves many purposes. It can be made into high volume jug wine that is dilute, wimpy and boring or into the finest quality white wine that is bright, fruity and complex. Chardonnay has its roots in Burgundy, but its wings are in the New World. Ask for a glass of white wine and you’ll get some sort of chardonnay. As Jay McInerney said in Bacchus and Me, “The house chard in most restaurants usually tastes like some laboratory synthesis of lemon and sugar. If, on the other hand, you order off the top of the list, you may get something that tastes like five pounds of melted butter churned in fresh- cut oak.” (p. 9) Too much of anything becomes tiresome, so it wasn’t surprising that an ABC (anything but chardonnay) backlash arose, especially because many of the early examples tended to be over-oaked. Thankfully, the trend is towards more balanced wines with subdued oak flavours.
Typical descriptors
Varietal Aromas/Flavors:
Stone Fruits: apple, pear, peach, apricot
Citric Fruits: lemon, lime, orange, tangerine
Tropical Fruits: pineapple, banana, mango, guava, kiwi
Floral: acacia, hawthorn
Processing Bouquets/Flavors:
Malolactic: butter, cream, hazelnut
Oak (light): vanilla, sweet wood, coconut
Oak (heavy): oak, smoke, toast, lees, yeast
Terroir: flint, mineral, mint
The Grape
This grape may well have originated in the Middle East and may be the same as Lebanon’s obaideh grape.
Dry white wine = Chardonnay.
Chardonnay grows in small berries and clusters. It is vigorous and adaptable to many soils. It matures early and is thus, prone to frost damage
The skin of the chardonnay grape has a relatively high level of pigment and when it is finally ripened, it can result in a yellow-gold wine. The skin is also high in aromatic compounds. Because the skin is thin, it is susceptible to rain damage at harvest. The pulp contains plenty of juice that can be high in sugar, which results in wines with high alcohol. The vine is very vigorous and the leaves need to be pruned or the canopy growth can dominate. Chardonnay will grow in just about any type of soil, but the finest examples of this grape are grown in chalk or limestone soils. It is happy to grow in a cool climate or a warm climate. In the Old World, it is often picked by hand in small-scale vineyards where the rows tend to be close together. In the New World, where vineyards tend to be on a larger scale, harvesting is typically done mechanically and often at night when temperatures are cooler. One of the problems chardonnay can have in warmer climates is that it can be too hot. The vine needs to hibernate and rest during the winter. This helps to kill off pests and diseases
Unfermented chardonnay (must) has very little varietal aroma, often little more than a hint of hay.
The Wine
With little exception, the wines are made dry. Chardonnay is best served at 10 – 12° C. The better ones can be cellared for 5 – 10 years. Chardonnay flavours intensify with age. Chardonnay is similar to red wine in that it is full bodied and has greater depth that most other white wines. It is often subjected to oak aging, malo-lactic fermentation and it improves with age.
Chardonnay often undergoes extended skin contact (as much as thirty hours) to increase the phenolic extraction, which results in a wine with more robust flavours and deeper colours. Contrarily, some wine makers, especially those making sparkling wines, will employ whole bunch pressing to lessen phenolic levels. It is best to ferment the wine at about 15° C so that the fresh fruit flavours are retained. Wines with high acid usually undergo ML fermentation to soften them out. Wine makers also must determine what type of oak they want to use, whether to use new or older oak and the degree of toast in the barrels. Lees contact can be used to increase the ‘creaminess’ of the wine. Chardonnay is typically aged any where from 3 months to 2 years. Some aromatic compounds are not released until after fermentation. Wines with over 14% alcohol may seem to have unfermented sugars present.
Chardonnay is usually not blended, but a small amount of chardonnay in other wines will provide extra body and fruit flavours.
France
While chardonnay is grown around the world, it reaches it’s pinnacle in the Cote d’ Or region of Burgundy – Montrachet, Mersault, Poilly-Fuisse, Corton- Charlemagne, as well as in Chablis and Champagne. Chardonnay is one of only two varietals allowed in Burgundy (with minor exceptions). Traditionally, white burgundy needed 3 years or more to mature and evolve in the bottle. Further north, in Chablis, the wine tends to be light, austere, and crisp with a steely taste like gunflint or gravel. As you move north to south in France, the qualities of chardonnay change dramatically, becoming softer and rounder. Each region has it’s own distinctive qualities.
Too often, wine makers, both in the Old World and the New, chase fashion rather than sticking to their own tastes of what makes good wine. There is a current worldwide glut of wine. As a result, people are getting better quality at a cheaper price. This has been combined with an increase in most people’s knowledge of wine. People are willing to spend more and drink less, but drink better quality. Globalization has seen the advent of ‘flying wine makers’. Highly regarded wine makers can be in California or France during one part of the year and in Chile or Australia during the other half. It should come as no wonder then that traditional styles and techniques are becoming blurred, resulting in some southern French wine having a lot in common with some Australian wines.
Champagnes labeled as ‘Blanc de Blanc” are made from 100% chardonnay.
Burgundy has it’s good years and it’s bad but what makes the search worthwhile is that the good burgundies tend to have more character, to be better balanced, more elegant, more . . . Catherine Deneuve, compared to the Dolly Parton wines of California. (McInerney)
BC
Chardonnay is made by over 36 BC wineries. Mission Hill’s 1992 Grande Reserve Chardonnay won the Avery Trophy at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London in 1994. Domaine Combret won awards three years in a row at Chardonnay du Monde. BC winemakers are out to make a BC style of chardonnay rather than trying to emulate the Californian, Australian or Chilean styles. Crisper acidity means that BC chardonnays are better food wines than the oaky, buttery thick, rich ones often associated with
California. BC winemakers are trying to achieve just the right balance of fruit and oak to make the wine harmonious. To achieve this harmony, winemakers often blend wines fermented in stainless steel, with those fermented in oak barrels. In addition, wines that have been subjected to malolactic fermentation are blended with non-ML wines. Finally, some wines are blended with wines from different vineyards to take advantage of different terriors to achieve complexity. Most wines are made as 100% chardonnay, though are some chardonnay/sémillon blends.
To achieve high quality, better vineyards have cropped to 1 1⁄2 tons per acre. Some wine makers often decide on 4 – 6 hours skin contact and then chill their wine to settle. Then they ferment the clean juice. There is good fruit in BC chard, so oak is kept to a minimum. Most winemakers strive for a subtle oak character in their wines. Look for peaches and pears in chardonnays from the Okanagan.
Chardonnay was first made at Sumac Ridge in the early 1980’s. Now it is mostly grown in the southern Okanagan n Valley, using French clones.
California
In the 1960’s California discovered that French oak was responsible for the superior chardonnays of Burgundy. This led to the thinking that oak equals good wine. This, and the thinking that, ‘more is better’ led to the over oaked wines that were typical for so many of the early years. Fortunately, things improved. In his 1974 book Wine, Hugh Johnson waxed eloquent on California chardonnay, “In richness and freshness of scent, in savouriness and complexity of taste, and in balance and appetizing dryness, however, the chardonnay is so outstanding that vast new plantings have been made to increase the supply.” (p 153) Most California chardonnays are fuller in body than those from other areas, with a higher alcohol due to riper fruit. The best sources are from Carneros, Edna Valley and the Russian River.
Californian chardonnays are often aged 3 – 12 months in French oak and bottle aged 3 – 5 years. They are released with older vintage dates – 18 months is common. The grapes are usually picked when they reach 22 – 23° Brix. Six-hour skin contact is common. Many clones have been planted in California. Pineapple notes often indicates a Californian wine.
Jay McInerney says, “I’m changing my mind about California. The movies are getting louder and dumber, but the wines seem to be going the other way.”
Australia
Chardonnay, perhaps contrary to popular belief, has only a thirty-year history in Australia. The best sources are from Coonawarra, Margaret River, and Tasmania. Look for deep yellow colour, ripe grapefruit or citric smells. American oak tends to be the choice of most wine makers. Australian chardonnays are often blended with sémillon.
New Zealand
The best sources are from Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough and Nelson. As New Zealand’s wine growing area is stretched from north to south, it is similar in that respect to France and as such, produces chardonnays in a similar wide range of styles.
Chile
In 1985 there were only 12 acres of chardonnay planted in Chile. In less than 20 years, the acreage has increased by more than 1000 fold.
Food and wine
So many styles, so many food matches. Chardonnay is a very versatile wine. It can be served with oysters, fowl or fish. If the wine you are serving is high in oak, and you are serving fish, try adding some lemon to your fish (or other entrée).
Big chardonnays are not patio sippers. They are better served in the winter than in summer. Serve big chardonnays with strongly flavored foods such as smoked salmon, turkey and cream sauces. White burgundy is good with veal and pork.
Other chardonnay matches:
Cheddar, Parmesan, hard cheeses, goat cheese
Eggs and egg sauces
Vegetables with butter
Notes compiled by Sam Hauck September 2007
References
Arkell, Julie. Wine, London: New Holland Publishers, 2003
Atkins, Susy. International Wine Guide, London: Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2003
Baldy, Marian W. The University Wine Course, San Franciso: The Wine Appreciation Guild, 1997
Broom, Dave. Chardonnay, London: Octopus Publishing, 2003
Johnson, Hugh. Hugh Johnson’s Wine, London: Octopus Publishing, 1974
Johnson, Hugh and James Halliday. The Vintner’s Art, New York: Simon and Shuster, 1992
Johnson, Hugh and Jancis Robinson. The World Atlas of Wine 5th Edition, London: Octopus Publishing Group, 2001
McInerney, Jay. Bacchus and Me, New York: The Lyons Press, 2000
Ridgway, Judy. The Wine-tasting Class, New York: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1996
Schreiner, John. British Columbia Wine Country, North Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 2003
Seldom, Philip. The Vintage Magazine Consumer Guide to Wine, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1983
Sharp, Andrew. Winetaster’s Secrets, Toronto: Warwick Publishing, 2001 Simon, Joanna. Wine with Food, New York: Simon and Shuster, 1996
Walton, Stuart. The World Encyclopedia of Wine, London: Anness Publishing, 1999
Web sites
u-monde.com/ Fr/80_chard/index.en.html