Modern Chardonnay: warm days and cool whites
It’s rosé and white wine season on the coast, and while fresh spot prawns, wild halibut and salmon are a big part of the reason to drink white or pink, the notion we should be drinking lighter and brighter probably has more to do with the weather and the predilection of Vancouver diners to run to the patio when the sun appears. Add to that a wealth of seafood available to us on the coast and maybe we should be drinking more white wine year round.
The current state of fresh drinkable whites can be just about anything from Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier and Grenache Blanc in the Rhone and southern France to Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Grüner Veltliner and Pinot Gris grown all around the world. This month at Salut, we suggest turning the clock back a bit and taking another look at the world’s favourite white wine: Chardonnay. The red wine pendulum is swinging back into the white zone, so why wait for the rush?
If it’s been a while since you ventured into the Chardonnay section, you will be in for a pleasant surprise. White wine is cooler than ever and serving the perfect Chardonnay, perhaps under a screwcap, could make you look like a wine wiz in short order. The ABC ( anything but Chardonnay) days are over among savvy wine drinkers thanks to the many crisp, fresh, cool- climate, less- oaked Chardonnays now available in the market.
For the unaware, we simply know so much more today about growing white wine grapes and turning them into wine than we did less than 20 years ago. In fact, most Chardonnay made in the 1980s looks almost prehistoric alongside anything bottled today — think California Chardonnay in the early 1990s versus some of the examples we see come off extreme coastal sites today. It appears while consumers were happily exploring Sauvignon, Riesling and friends, Chardonnay vineyards have been retooled — pushed to the coolest and most marginal vineyard sites ( in terms of weather) where acidity and fruit are intensified long before the grape gets to the winery.
Here at home, similar changes are well underway. Not to beat a dead horse, but the Okanagan’s only hope is to find a way to express its unique place in the wine world. If Blue Mountain has stayed the course for two decades producing a less- is- more Chardonnay-style newcomer, Meyer Vineyard has staked acclaim to that territory while gradual refinement has brought Mission Hill, Cedar-Creek, Burrowing Owl, Joie, Road 13 and more back into the picture.
In short, Chardonnay is fresher, crisper and more fun to drink, especially with food. To illustrate just how broad a selection you can draw upon at the moment, I’ve selected 10 very different bottles available in restaurants, private wine shops and government liquor stores in your neighbourhood.
Finca Los Primos Chardonnay 2013 ($ 11) is a fun Argentine white to kick off your summer of Chardonnay. Besides its pleasant light peach, citrus and floral aromas, you get a creamy palate with more peach, pear skin and baked apple flavours. It’s crazy value at $ 11. When it comes to patio parties, it can be bought by the dozen and best of all it will work well with most patio appetizers.
Similar in style if not fresher is Douglas Green Chardonnay 2012 ($ 13) from the Western Cape, South Africa. It’s almost impossible to find wines at $ 13 with any varietal character — let alone style — but this wine can surprise as well. Fresh, juicy and round, it over- delivers. Try it with sushi rolls or grilled vegetarian kebabs. A simple, fresh style suited to luncheons and patio.
The Ardèche river slices through the limestone foothills of the Massif Central and along the steep chalky and clay slopes, planted since Roman times, Louis Latour planted Chardonnay. The result is a Louis Latour Ardèche Chardonnay 2011 ($ 14), maybe the best Ardèche we have tasted, which comes with modern, fresh, ripe red apple fruit flecked with butter and nuts. Impressive for the price and wonderful with white meats.
Closer to home, where prices have soared in the last decade, the Mission Hill Five Vineyards Chardonnay 2012 ($ 15) gives a little back. Winemaker John Simes knows Chardonnay, and in this case the 5V is showing some of the creamy, complex notes found in his higher- priced SLC and Perpetua labels. We love the fresh bright style, and the pear and green apple fruit with floral mineral support. Chicken salads or any of your favourite tomato dishes would work.
Organic fruit is behind the Bonterra Vineyards Chardonnay 2012 ($ 19) from Mendocino County in California. The state is always warmer and you taste it in the fresh, juicy, slightly sweet entry with nutty lees, canned peach, passion fruit and apple flavours. This is a crowdpleaser you can sip solo or pair with seafood pasta.
From a cool 2011, vintage winemaker Mark Lyon has turned out an attractive Sebastiani Sonoma Chardonnay 2011 ($ 21) mixing honey and lees on the nose with fresh pear and citrus flavours with a dash of toast and vanilla. Quintessential Sonoma, with just a touch of sweetness, spice and butter on the finish. Perfect for crab or lobster dishes.
If there is a more consistent local Chardonnay than Blue Mountain Chardonnay 2012 ($ 21), I’m not aware of it. Blue Mountain has always been about lees is more, and for many years was way ahead of the pack when it came to style. You will love its creamy palate with nutty lees, butterscotch, baked apple, lemon peel and honey. Balanced, textured and complex all in one. Pick your whitefish and prepare it simply.
Wolf Blass turns 80 this year, and while he was famous for his oaky Chardonnay back in the day, his latest work — Wolf Blass Gold Label Chardonnay 2013 ($ 23) — is as modern as it gets. Under screwcap, the style is clean and fresh, lighter with juicy acidity. It’s creamy, and garlic, nutty lees with baked green apple, peach and honey deliver the full flavour style of Oz. Grilled prawns with a butter sauce would be a great match.
It’s hard to describe how delicious the Drouhin Vaudon Chablis Reserve de Vaudon 2012 ($ 29) is in the glass. The fruit is bio- dynamically grown and the fermentation and aging is all done in stainless steel for seven to eight months. The nose is unexpectedly expressive, at least for Chablis, with floral yellow fruits with bits of chalk and minerality. The attack is fresh with fine acidity, red apple fruit and stony minerality. A perfect oyster wine.
Finally, from the Drouhin family in Oregon, Domaine Drouhin Arthur Chardonnay 2012 ($ 32) is a Willamette Valley superstar for the price. Juicy and creamy with a whack of green apple, and nutty and butterscotch flavours and bits of citrus, nectarine skin and pea shoot flavours. Perfect with fresh halibut.
Chardonnay has never really lost its lustre, but it has lost its fat during the years and as a result it’s never been better. Halibut, anyone?
The Next Chardonnay
Finca Los Primos Chardonnay 2013, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina, $ 11 Douglas Green Chardonnay 2012, Western Cape, South Africa, $ 13 Louis Latour Ardèche Chardonnay 2011, France, $ 14 Mission Hill Five Vineyards Chardonnay 2012, Okanagan Valley, $ 15 Bonterra Vineyards Chardonnay 2012, Mendocino County, Calif., $ 19 Sebastiani Sonoma Chardonnay 2011, Sonoma County, Calif., $ 21 Blue Mountain Chardonnay 2012, Okanagan Valley, $ 21 Wolf Blass Gold Label Chardonnay 2013, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, $ 23 Drouhin Vaudon Chablis Reserve de Vaudon 2012, Chablis, Burgundy, France, $ 29 Domaine Drouhin Arthur Chardonnay 2012, Willamette Valley, Oregon, $ 32