In Defence of Chardonnay

Oh — I don’t eat vegetables, I don’t like any of them. Apart from the juvenile absolutism, such sentiments painted with such an incredibly wide brush cross over to absurd. The same holds true with the world’s greatest white wine grape, Chardonnay.

Countless factors account for wine tasting the way it does, in the case of Chardonnay, both climate and winemaking decisions weigh heavily on perception in the glass; perhaps more than any other variety Chardonnay could pass for a Chameleon.

Flirting with the 48th parallel the white wines of cool, continental climate, Chablis are crafted solely from Chardonnay. They’re bracing, tart, exhibit lean fruit character and rarely exceed moderate levels of alcohol. When dissecting a prototypical Chablis, seasoned tasters would not be describing overt new oak influence. As one of the widest planted white grape varieties on the planet, sensible cool climate expressions are found across the globe, from the maritime adjacent regions of New Zealand, Australia and Chile, to right here in the Cowichan Valley. Granted, Cowichan currently has less than substantial acreage dedicated to Chardonnay, but as our newly minted VQA Sub-GI grows, as will the prominence of this magical variety.

Travelling South from Chablis heat units unleash their affect on ripening fruit; green apple notes become yellow apple notes and lemon peel flavours transform into tropical fruit flavours. Abundance of sunshine turns bracing and electric acid profiles into a softer, rounder, and more weighty mid-palates as alcohols slowly rise. The warm climate phenomena is especially palpable in inland areas of South Australia, California and southern Okanagan.

In the glass, Chardonnay remains one of the greatest white varieties at showcasing impact of climate; precious few other varieties craft exceptional, interesting wines across all viticultural climates. Growing conditions are not entirely responsible for the vast array of styles, aromas and flavours Chardonnay

shows. Beginning at harvest, Chardonnay holds limitless possibilities for vignerons to leave their fingerprint. Associations between Chardonnay and oak barrels cannot be ignored. Personally, I view great Chardonnay as deserving of oak, and less than great quality Chardonnay as requiring it. Oak barrels, however, are not all created equal; brand new barrels will impart overt flavours to a wine. New oak lends aromas of vanilla, cardamom, coconut, and smokey characteristics. Chardonnay from warm climates has enough prominence of ripe fruit flavours to compliment this level of oak impact. By comparison a used barrel, having held previous vintages, will impart more subtle flavour profiles, often noted as spice cupboard notes, hazelnut, and almond.

Oak sources and fabrication techniques weigh heavy in the equation. Coopers and winery cellar masters possess acute palates, capable of discerning country of origin, specific forests, oak species, wood density, and toast level, each of which nudge an aging wine down various stylistic paths.

The options during Chardonnay production do not end at the simple choice of barrels. Some producers opt to press the fruit gently in whole clusters resulting in a very fine, delicate and poised juice. Alternatively, removing berries from their stems and leaving them to soak on their skins for a time lets diffusion of compounds, responsible for flavour and texture, into the juice thus resulting in a firmer, denser and broader mid palate.

Often heard is the archetype of, “The Big Buttery Chardonnay” referring to lactose reminiscent aromas, flavours and textures produced during wines journey are due to malolactic fermentation (MLF). After completing alcoholic fermentation, wines generally undergo a process whereby tart, mouthwatering malic acid converts to softer and less bracing, lactic acid. In cool climates like ours, we posses tart acids in spades, therefore the majority of wines undergo this conversion. Conversely in hot climates, preserving freshness and vibrancy is desirable, thus winemakers often inhibit this conversion with Chardonnay.

Similarly to barrels, all malolactic fermentations are not carbon copies; wine chemistry, strains of bacteria and nutrient availability, all affect the subsequent perception in the glass. Compounds produced during MLF manifest themselves as flavours ranging anywhere from coy crème fraîche or yoghurt notes to dead ringers for drawn butter.

I lied; I love vegetables. Coming in amazingly diverse textures, flavours, colours, and they are an endless source of inspiration and excitement. Some of the best and most amazing examples emanate from farms in our own backyard. We all have 30 year old memories of underseasoned, lacklustre, mushy, frozen peas, but we don’t let that taint our view of an entire food group! Why would we write off the world’s greatest dry white wine variety in the same manner?

Chris Turyk - I love wine, a lot. I’m a Certified Sommelier, WSET Diploma graduate, and get in everyones way at unsworthvineyards.