A bottle of chardonnay can have a very different flavour profile depending on several factors. The first is climate. Chardonnay from a cool region, such as Chablis in Burgundy, is higher in acidity and tends to have green fruits and lots of lemon zest. Grown in a warmer climate, such as Australia, it typically is richer and more textured with ripe tropical fruits. However, a winemaker in a warm climate can harvest earlier to retain acidity and freshness – or simply add acidity.
Producers can intervene in a number of ways to change the style of wine they make. Winemakers love playing with their chardonnay, a fairly neutral variety, adding extra layers of flavour and complexity.
In the winery, the wine can go through a second malolactic fermentation, which converts malic acid to lactic, giving the wine a softer, creamier texture. But probably the biggest factor in how your chardonnay will taste is the ageing process. Winemakers will often age some or all of their wine in oak barrels for a period. If the oak is new, it adds extra flavours. Some consumers love it, but others don’t.
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It can be very frustrating trying to work out if your chardonnay has been oaked or not before you buy it. The back label will sometimes help, although they can be very coy at times. Here is a helpful hint: if the tasting note mentions vanilla, butter, toffee, toasted, nuts or spice, it is likely to have been aged in oak barrels. It is also worth checking the alcohol level, which must be printed on every label. A wine at 12.5 per cent to 13 per cent will be light and refreshing and probably unoaked, whereas one at 13.5 per cent or more will be rich and powerful and is more likely to be oaked. Good winemakers will use oak in a sensitive manner, just adding subtle background flavours that compliment the fruit. Others are a little more clumsy.
If you think you don’t like chardonnay, you may not have tried the right one yet. It is one of the greatest white grape varieties, used in most Champagne and almost all white Burgundy, including Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Mâcon.
Chardonnay is one of the great food wines, going well with a wide variety of dishes and flavours. Lighter crisp chardonnay makes a great partner for oysters or mussels as well as creamy cheeses such as mozzarella. With a richer oaked chardonnay, try roast chicken, lobster, scallops, macaroni or cauliflower cheese and Comté cheese.
