Grape Varieties: Chardonnay

All about Chardonnay Wine

Chardonnay is the second most widely planted grape variety in France but is probably the most important.  Chardonnay is responsible for the great white wines of Burgundy from Chablis in the north to Macon in the south.  Chardonnay is also one of the three grape varieties permitted in Champagne and is the only white one; thus the words “Blanc de Blancs” on a bottle of Champagne mean that the Champagne is 100% Chardonnay.  Transplanted to the vineyards of the new world Chardonnay is also widely grown in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and the USA.  Chardonnay is widely regarded as a malleable grape variety in that it tends to reflect the terroir on which it was grown and responds well to the influences of the winemaker producing everything from crisp, dry delicate wines to full, rich buttery ones.

Following its surge in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s we have seen something of a minor backlash against Chardonnay.  It seems that many customers have become bored with the over-oaked “custardy” Chardonnays widely produced in California and Australia where oak was used as the veil behind which either under-ripe fruit or poor wiemaking could be hidden.  These sort of wines have given Chardonnay something of a bad name, but wine is all about balance and using generous amounts or oak is ok providing the wine is up to it.  Many new world producers now produce an unwooded version of Chardonnay (Gary Jordan in South Africa for instance) as well as oak ageing fuller and richer wines made from Chardonnay.

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