Chardonnay has come a long way since Footballers’ Wives | David Williams
Grove Mill Chardonnay Marlborough, New Zealand 2020 (£9.95, The Wine Society) These days you can find excellent wines made from almost every grape variety in the world. 'southern hemisphere. There is a real signature in wine styles such as Central Otago Pinot Noir, Swartland Chenin Blanc blends, Barossa Shiraz, Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon and Mendoza Malbec. These are just as distinctive as the styles made from the same varietals in the regions of France where they made a name for themselves. The exception to this rule is chardonnay. So many producers in the southern hemisphere have adopted a Burgundian style (or styles) that I find it harder every year to separate them from the "originals". For example, Marlborough's very balanced and slightly flavorful Chardonnay could easily pass for a much more expensive Burgundian bottling.
Rustenberg Wild Ferment Unwooded Chardonnay Stellenbosch, South Africa South 2022 (12, Tesco) New Zealand Chardonnay is some of the best in the world, and often excellent value for money in even the most expensive bottlings, like the wonderfully bright and focused 2019 Dog Point Chardonnay. At £29 it's not cheap, but it's at least as sophisticated as many white Burgundies at twice the price. South Africa is also responsible for some exceptional chardonnay in a variety of styles. The very large Rustenberg Estate in the Cape's wine-growing heartland, Stellenbosch, produces a crisp, clean and flowing expression of green apple, while the ocean-cooled valley of Hemel-en-Aarde is the source of the astonishing depth oak-smoky- the flavor and crystalline acidity of Restless River Ava Marie Chardonnay 2020 (£45, swig.co.uk).
Penfolds Max's Chardonnay Adelaide Hills, Australia 2019 (£19.99, Waitrose) It's become a wine-writing cliché to note how far Australian Chardonnay has come since it first wowed British drinkers with its sunshine infusion , tropical fruit and oaky notes of butterscotch in the 1980s. But for 20 years, Australia's finest winemakers have used Chardonnay to produce exceptional white wines in a range of styles, from richly oaked and ripe to - much more current nowadays - incisively mineral, spawning s and balanced. Even companies much better known for their red wines - like Penfolds, makers of Australia's most famous red wine, Grange - will often make a fine range of chardonnay, with Max's Chardonnay, named after the man who created Grange, Max Schubert, a resonant combination of baked citrus, apple and shortbread biscuit.
Follow David Williams on Twitter @Daveydaibach
Grove Mill Chardonnay Marlborough, New Zealand 2020 (£9.95, The Wine Society) These days you can find excellent wines made from almost every grape variety in the world. 'southern hemisphere. There is a real signature in wine styles such as Central Otago Pinot Noir, Swartland Chenin Blanc blends, Barossa Shiraz, Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon and Mendoza Malbec. These are just as distinctive as the styles made from the same varietals in the regions of France where they made a name for themselves. The exception to this rule is chardonnay. So many producers in the southern hemisphere have adopted a Burgundian style (or styles) that I find it harder every year to separate them from the "originals". For example, Marlborough's very balanced and slightly flavorful Chardonnay could easily pass for a much more expensive Burgundian bottling.
Rustenberg Wild Ferment Unwooded Chardonnay Stellenbosch, South Africa South 2022 (12, Tesco) New Zealand Chardonnay is some of the best in the world, and often excellent value for money in even the most expensive bottlings, like the wonderfully bright and focused 2019 Dog Point Chardonnay. At £29 it's not cheap, but it's at least as sophisticated as many white Burgundies at twice the price. South Africa is also responsible for some exceptional chardonnay in a variety of styles. The very large Rustenberg Estate in the Cape's wine-growing heartland, Stellenbosch, produces a crisp, clean and flowing expression of green apple, while the ocean-cooled valley of Hemel-en-Aarde is the source of the astonishing depth oak-smoky- the flavor and crystalline acidity of Restless River Ava Marie Chardonnay 2020 (£45, swig.co.uk).
Penfolds Max's Chardonnay Adelaide Hills, Australia 2019 (£19.99, Waitrose) It's become a wine-writing cliché to note how far Australian Chardonnay has come since it first wowed British drinkers with its sunshine infusion , tropical fruit and oaky notes of butterscotch in the 1980s. But for 20 years, Australia's finest winemakers have used Chardonnay to produce exceptional white wines in a range of styles, from richly oaked and ripe to - much more current nowadays - incisively mineral, spawning s and balanced. Even companies much better known for their red wines - like Penfolds, makers of Australia's most famous red wine, Grange - will often make a fine range of chardonnay, with Max's Chardonnay, named after the man who created Grange, Max Schubert, a resonant combination of baked citrus, apple and shortbread biscuit.
Follow David Williams on Twitter @Daveydaibach
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