Chardonnay

I must admit to some former snobbery.
I used to consider white wines to be simple fare for those not ready for the seriousness of red wine. Worse: within that erroneous (but common) generalization, I considered Chardonnay to be nothing but an ocean of dull plonk chosen by simplistic palates on (varietal) name recognition alone.
I apologize – to you, and to myself – for my former attitude.

Yes, there is an ocean of Chardonnay... and lots of it is dull plonk. And while that is also true of every wine “type”, it quite certainly particularly true of Chardonnay.
Why?
First: In the spectrum of grape varieties, Chardonnay is easy to grow. It is relatively disease resistant. It will grow in the widest range of climates. Finally, (unrestrained) Chardonnay vines will give high yields. All this is no insult to the Burgundian artisan... but it is all very attractive to producers looking to churn out vast quantizes of plonk.
Second: name recognition (varietal, brand, etc) tends to be good for (mass-market) sales and bad for quality. An awful lot of Chardonnay has been purchased by customers – confronted with poorly designed wine lists and retail stores – grabbing hold of something familiar.


There’s an irony in treating Chardonnay as a sort of brand... its the chameleon of the vine. While there is a familiar California/Australian model, Chardonnay thrives in a wide range of climates, each producing different fruit character. Further, Chardonnay is sometimes called “the winemaker’s grape” for taking kindly to a wide range of manipulations in the winery.
Cool Climate – Warm Climate

As any grape ripens, it gains sugar (which will be turned into alcohol) and looses acidity. This vineyard balancing act has a range of solutions.
Grown in a cool climate (northern Burgundy, Ontario), Chardonnay tends to be high in acidity (crisp, tart) and fairly low in alcohol. A warm climate (Australia, much of California) produces Chardonnay low in acidity (soft, plump) and high in alcohol.
The flavour characteristics of a grape is effected by the amount of warmth the vine enjoys, and shifts as the fruit ripens. Cool climate Chardonnay tends towards apple, pear and lemons; warm climate Chardonnay reaches into tropical flavours like mango, banana and fig.
Body (mouth feel, or weight) is the result of a wine’s alcohol, and compounds (glycerines, for example) which develop in the later stages of ripening. It follows then: cool climate Chardonnay will tend to be lighter bodied than ones produced in a warm climate with the luxury of a prolonged ripening process (“hang time”).



Malolactic Fermentation

Things aren’t too complicated yet... but now the grapes are brought out of the vineyard and into the winery’s cellar.
Malolactic fermentation is a process by which an infant wine’s malic acid (think tart green apples) is converted into softer lactic acid (think of yogurt’s tang).
Modern winemakers are able to control this process... and muddle up our simple climatic model. In making a cool climate Chardonnay, a winemaker (let’s call him Joe) may avoid “malo”. This would emphasize the crisp, tart aspects the wine. On the other hand, Joe could put the wine through malo and produce something softer and plumper.
As a byproduct, malolactic fermentation produces diacetyl. This compound – more familiar as the key aromatic component of butter – can radically alter the character of the wine. It can slather (not surprisingly) a creamy, buttery layer onto a wine’s fruit aromas and flavour profiles.
Now Joe can choose to produce a crisp, tart Chardonnay... or one softer, with its flavours shifted towards tangy lemon cream.


Oaked – Unoaked

Wine, of course, needs a vessel.
The material in which wine is fermented, and then aged, will have a major influence on what ends up in our glass. Chardonnay is made in either stainless steel or oak.
Let’s start with an oaked version.
First, wood will impart various chemicals, many of them flavorful, to the wine. The intensity of these flavours will vary according to the age of the oak (after a few years, an oak barrel will have become inert). The flavours will also vary according to the type of oak used (American vs French, sawn vs split), and the level of “toast” left by the cooper who used heat to bend the staves into a barrel. Common aroma and flavour characteristics here: tea leaves, incense, coconut, vanilla.
Second, wooden barrels are (slightly) permeable. Moisture slowly escapes through evaporation, concentrating its contents. Not being impervious in the other direction either, the wine is very slowly oxidized. Oxygen (if you’ve ever tasted wine left open too long, you know) is the enemy of wine. A very little oxidation, however, adds appealing nutty, butterscotch flavours.



Clones

Without getting into too much biology (which will quickly confuse me, and then you)...
A grape variety (i.e. Chardonnay) is not unlike a dog breed... it is a particular version of the species (for our purposes: vitis vinifera). Each vine, propagated by taking a cutting from an existing vine, is a genetic copy. This duplication, however, is not quite perfect. A few of these imperfections (mutations) will happen to be desirable trait. If noticed by the wine grower, cuttings may be taken to propagate a new sub-variety or “clone”.
Any major international grape variety (which certainly includes Chardonnay) will have a large number of recognized clones. Clonal selection most often a matter of matching a vineyard (climate, soil), and desired yields to a clone with suitable characteristics. For all but the severely geeky wine-drinker, this is pretty obscure stuff best left to an occasional winery tour. However, some clones produce wines with a distinct flavour.
Of all this Chardonnay happens to provide an excellent example:
Keep an eye out, and you’ll likely come across wines labeled “Chardonnay Musque”.
Musque (also known as clone#809) is a distinctively aromatic clone of Chardonnay. Recalling Muscat, the (unrelated) variety from which this clone takes its name, these wines can be generously endowed with grapey and floral scents.


Some Chardonnay to try:

If you’d like to explore, here is a list of some widely ranging wines which are currently available in Ontario.


Cave Spring Chardonnay Reserve. (Ontario) Cool climate, moderately oaked but malolatic fermentation suppressed. ($20)


Lakeview Cellars. (Ontario) Chardonnay Reserve (03). Cool climate, outrageously oaky. (available at the winery $30)


Yes, white Burgundy is not cheap.
Ripe and oaky: a Cote d’Or Chardonnay... Meursault-Charmes (1er Cru) 2004 by Domaine Latour-Giraud. ($65)
--or--
Crisp and unoaked: a Chablis... Vau de Vey (1er Cru) 2004 by Chateau de Maligny. ($32)

Three examples of warm climate ripeness:
“Toasted Head” Chardonnay. R.H.Phillips, California. ($20)
Neil Ellis Chardonnay. 2004 South Africa ($19)
“Leconfield Chardonnay” 2003 Richard Hamilton. Australia ($21)

Finally two unusual diversions:
Peller Estates. Chardonnay Icewine. Very unusual... but, frankly, this was so sweet (and lacking acidity) that it made me think of letting a meringue melt on my tongue. Still, very interesting. (winery $70/375ml)

Peninsula Ridge. Ratafia. Something way off in left field... unfermented Chardonnay juice, fortified with local plum brandy. Fantastic. (winery $30/500ml)