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Chardonnay is probably essentially the most well-known grape selection of all of them. Certainly, there are only a few wine areas the place Chardonnay’s presence has not been not felt. It turns up all over the place, from Burgundy to Bío-Bío, from Sonoma to Stellenbosch.
There are a variety of causes for Chardonnay’s recognition. To start with, it’s extremely versatile. It may be contemporary, clear and fruity; it may be taut, lean and mineral; or it may be fats, buttery and wealthy. There are few grapes that give a winemaker a lot freedom to tweak the model and make the wine they need.
Secondly, when New World wines began to make severe inroads into the Outdated World dominance of the early Nineteen Nineties, Chardonnay was out in entrance. Within the UK and elsewhere, a brand new breed of wine drinker was fast to embrace these loud-and-proud wines that supplied sunshine in a bottle and lower by means of the dusty, old-school picture that wine had as much as that time.
Sadly, Chardonnay grew to become a sufferer of its personal success. The arrival of too many overly oaked examples helped create the “Something However Chardonnay” brigade, and noticed folks flip to extra fragrant varieties corresponding to Sauvignon Blanc of their droves (though, admittedly, they carried on ingesting Chablis…)
However as winemakers toned down the oak and strived for extra class, so folks got here again to this world-class grape selection. There are actually incredible Chardonnays made everywhere in the globe, corresponding to Bouchard Finlayson Missionvale Chardonnay 2018 from South Africa, which was awarded 97/100pts by the IWSC judges.
Burgundy – dwelling to Chablis, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet – will all the time be the benchmark for top-quality Chardonnay, however now you can discover world-class examples as far afield as Canada, Argentina and New Zealand. Listed here are 15 of the very best Chardonnays to attempt, based mostly on the 2020 IWSC tasting.
Missionvale Chardonnay 2018
Bouchard Finlayson
South Africa
Very elegant wine with properly judged oak that provides vanilla spice to the tropical fruit and toffee apple flavours. Completely poised with crisp acidity and a sublime, lengthy end. 13.5%
Blanchot 2017
La Chablisienne
France
Polished and refined glorious class exemplar. Bursting with pure brilliant citrus, but wealthy and concentrated full flavoured class. Charming savoury components mingle with mineral highlights and fantastically linear built-in oak. 13%
Il Liris Chardonnay 2018
Castelli Estate
Australia
Richly-layered cornucopia of fragrant oral pleasure; ripe yellow plum, unique blooms, woodsmoke, citrus, lime curd, bacon and pineapple. Elegant, refined, managed with a mouth-watering acidity and a finely textured palate. An excellent citrus scented, stone fruit end. Longevity and style. 13%
Apogée Chardonnay 2018
La Vierge
South Africa
Intense nostril of baked apples and caramel. Very harmonious palate with ripe stone fruit, golden apple and white grapefruit with properly built-in oak. Interesting creamy texture and linear acidity all through the lingering end. 13%
TED Edward Andrew Chardonnay 2017
Bird in Hand
Australia
Creamy, seductive, jasmine-scented honeyed beeswax and lemon meringue adorn this dreamily textured, harmonious cornucopia of a wine. Sublimely prolonged, substantial of weight, acidity and fruit; made for meals. Classical profile and the potential to reside eternally. 13.5%
La Pierrelée 2017
La Chablisienne
France
Unashamedly grown up Chablis, aged and happy with its traditional typicity. Wonderful harmonious medley of fruit intertwined with minerality. Tremendous fleshy stone fruit layered with ample contemporary lemons on a pure lean mineral spine. Pretty and lengthy. 12.5%
Felseck Vineyard Chardonnay 2017
Hidden Bench Estate Winery
Canada
Unctuous and layered, this cracking Chardonnay presents candy and savoury flavours aplenty. Full of candied lemon and stone fruits, the flinty minerality presents a full of life sensation all through whereas swish mouth-watering spice leads towards a protracted, toasted end. High marks. 13.5%
2018
International Procurement and Logistics
France
Gloriously refined benchmark, a textbook instance of an aspirational Chablis. Enticing and attractive exemplar – contemporary, brilliant and protracted. Pithy lemon perfume results in contemporary crisp bountiful lemon palate, tempered by refined minerality and a beautiful lingering end. 12.5%
Chardonnay 2018
50th Parallel Estate
Canada
Toast, ripe lemon, weighty inexperienced apple and a contact of struck match fill the nostril. On the palate, zesty lime and grapefruit cavort in opposition to a spine of savoury oak and steely acidity. A captivating, racy wine with distinctive poise and sophistication. 13.1%
Nest Egg Chardonnay 2018
Bird in Hand
Australia
Purity of kind; wafting honeysuckle, pithy citrus, superb late summer season fruit, candied peel and a bitter toffee apple end. Seductively restrained and laced with high quality ripe acidity and minerals. Suave. 13.5%
Alta Chardonnay 2019
Pascual Toso
Argentina
Delicate fragrance of royal jelly, lime curd and ripe peach. On the palate, there’s a seamless, luxurious butterscotch depth with orange and grapefruit rind. A giant, daring model that may be very nicely executed. 13.5%
HRB Chardonnay 2017
Hardys
Australia
Seduced on the nostril by aromas of smoke and reductive notes. The palate has a beautiful texture and acidity, creating the hallmarks of a wine that may age nicely in bottle. 13%
Diamond Chardonnay 2019
Ferngrove
Australia
Juxtaposition of cool, contemporary, zingy fruit and buttery biscuit. Heady blooms and well-calibrated oak provides smoke, toast and a balancing bitterness. Outstandingly centered, linear with luscious depth. Big ageing potential. 13%
Chardonnay 2017
Grgich Hills Estate
USA
Concentrated fruit and mineral richness, with tart juicy citrus and tropical notes of ripe guava. Crisp and complicated with a smoky roundness and an interesting steadiness of acidity. 14.1%
Chardonnay 2018
Trinity Hill
New Zealand
Clear, glowing lemon glides seamlessly from the nostril to the palate on high quality layer of minerality. A creamy be aware provides pretty weight and texture by means of to crisp acidity on end. 13%
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