Hello my friends! International Chardonnay Day is celebrated on Thursday May 26 this year! So here we go with a whole post on the most popular white wine type in the world! Its fruity-yet-acidic balance, versatile, subtle palates and approachable pairings make Chardonnay an effortless crowd-pleaser. Grown in just about every major wine region in the world, Chardonnay is the 'blank canvas' of many wine makers...
Chardonnay grapes quickly populated other European wine regions, including Northern and Southern Italy as well as Germany and Austria. Many of today’s most coveted and premium chardonnays come from these Old World European regions, particularly Burgundy. Actually, for those avid wine lovers, Chardonnay takes its name from the village of Chardonnay in the Mâcon region of Burgundy.
Today, Chardonnay is one of the top-most planted white wine varietals around the world. In fact, Chardonnay is the most planted white wine in California, with over 95,000 acres dedicated to its name in the Golden State alone. This particular area has grown a reputation since the triumph of Château Montelena Chardonnay in 1973, which prevailed over three renowned French wines during the Judgment of Paris. Worldwide, Chardonnay is grown and bottled in many other New World countries. Each micro appellation in these countries produces Chardonnays with vastly different flavors, textures, structure and aromas, increasing the complexity behind the white wine. Some of the top countries that produce Chardonnay today include Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, and in United States (mainly New York, Oregon and Washington States).
In general, Chardonnay's primary flavors are developed depending on the climate the grapes grew in, which ultimately influences the taste of the wine by changing the flavor of the varietal. Chardonnay thrives in both warm and cool climates. Unlike other wine types — for example, the thick-skinned Grenache, which needs warmer temperatures — Chardonnays tend to be divided according to cool- or warm-climate origins.
Primary flavors of cool-climate chardonnays are definitely citrusy, it’s because an early harvest date and the cooler temperatures bring out the zest in the grape. On the other hand, warm-climate Chardonnays develop more sugar and show less acidity. These grapes will tend to be more mellow and rich and very tropical fruit-forward. Other secondary flavor profiles will express according to the different techniques chosen by each winemaker, for instance oak-aging, steel fermentation, malolactic fermentation with lees, etc.
Pairing Chardonnay
Delicate but meaty white fish like cod and swordfish work great with both oaked and unoaked chardonnay. For the pork lovers, an unoaked chardonnay uplifts juicy tenderloins but hey, get creative with your sauces. Citrus glazes amplify the pineapple and lemon-lime zest inherent to this white wine.
Roasted chicken dishes, as well as other white-meat fowl, go great with the rich, creamy profile of oaked chardonnay. When pairing cheese go for those semi-hard but creamy cheeses like Gruyère, Edam and Gouda and get your oaked Chardonnay’s toasted notes. Shellfish, mild curry and pasta with cream-based sauces are also excellent friends of Chardonnay. Just bear in mind to serve your bottle chilled, around 50–55°F. Once opened, flavors will remain fresh for 2-4 days in the refrigerator before oxidizing!
What about Chablis?
Types of Chardonnay are best categorized according to warm versus cool climate, then old world versus new world origins. After all, these are the elements lending a bottle its primary and secondary flavors rather than the grapes themselves, ultimately contributing to chardonnay’s differences. According to this we can find seven flavor profiles: Sonoma Valley, South African, Willamette Valley, Italian, Australian, Champagne and Burgundy. Chardonnay goes exceptionally hand-in-hand, with Burgundy’s green pastoral hills cloaking limestone-dominant soil where this varietal thrives.
'The wines of Chablis' are made from one single varietal: Chardonnay. They are sub-divided into four appellations: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru. These are identified by precisely delimited production zones, and are subject to strict production regulations. Logically, the higher up the hierarchy, the tighter these regulations. Chablis wines are dry white wines which are characterized by their purity, crispness, sophistication and minerality. The Chardonnay varietal gives results in Chablis unlike anywhere else. It draws its personality and character from a subsoil that is 150 million years old, and ripens in ideal conditions, in a semi-continental climate, which allow it to attain a good balance between sugar levels and acidity. Today, the area planted in Chablis is about 5,800ha. In 1955, after the phylloxera crisis in the 19th century which ravaged France's vineyards, then two world wars, Chablis covered no more than 550ha of vine. Nonetheless, not all the appellation's territory is planted as yet: the delimited zone comprises 6,800ha spreading along the valley of the Serein, the river which runs through the wine region from south to north before flowing into the Yonne. The volumes produced have changed in accordance with the increase in area cultivated, with minor variations due to climatic vagaries.
Our Recommendations...
We would like to recommend you our exceptional Domain Grand Roche Chablis. This wine is exclusively aged in stainless steel tanks to let it fully express all its terroir. You can taste it young or let it develop more complex aromas after a few years. It will seduce you with its greeny-gold color, its subtle and elegant palate and its vivacity.
Home of Tara, the Atacama Desert.
Tara, is another exceptional Chardonnay in our portfolio, made in the heart of Atacama desert. After fermented in stainless steel barrels, with native yeasts, without any treatment or addition of external products to the grape, Tara ages for 24 months (70% stainless steel barrels and 30% French burgundy oak barrels). This wine is not clarified or filtered, so it could show fine residues. Tara is a fresh, nervous and mineral Chardonnay. Aromatically, it is a fruit-type wine with fresh notes of cucumber, apricot and white flowers.
And that's a wrap for today!
Have a happy week and... let's meet here next Wednesday again! Until then, Santé!
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