Talk-A-Vino

It’s been two weeks since the Chardonnay Day (May 23rd). So far I missed all the grape holidays this year, so why bother bringing it up, right?

Well, there are a few reasons. First, after carefully checking the blog, I realized that I never wrote about Chardonnay Day, which is a pity, because…

And here is the next reason – Chardonnay is one of my most favorite grapes. Of course, as a wine lover, you can say that I share this sentiment about every grape. Somewhat true, and yet in my book Chardonnay is different than most other white grapes.

While considered to originate in France, Chardonnay today is growing everywhere. I’m not sure if there is any well-known winemaking country that doesn’t produce Chardonnay – France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, USA (everywhere – New York, Pennsylvania, California, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, Texas…), Chile, Argentina, South Africa and literally everywhere else.

Chardonnay can be produced in all wine “forms” – still, sparkling, dessert. In still wines, Chardonnay is best known as a solo player, even though sometimes it can be added to the blend. In sparkling wines, Chardonnay can be used just by itself, producing Blanc de Blancs sparklers, but it also plays very well with others, such as Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in the case of classic French Champagne. But even in the still format, the range of Chardonnay’s expressions is endless, from steely, razor-sharp cut-through acidity in the young Chablis or some of the unoaked Chardonnay wines from the new world to the big, buttery, “love my every curve” wines that almost are not made anymore in California. And speaking about dessert, let’s not forget “stickies” from Australia.

Another important characteristic of Chardonnay – properly made wines can age. There are very few aging-capable white wines. Riesling probably holds a crown there, but anyone who tried well-aged Chablis or Burgundy knows the joy of the heavenly, honey-and-lemon liquid which forces you to meditate over a glass of wine, not just drink it.

To prove my “special affinity” to Chardonnay, I decided to enlist the help of my Top Wine of the Year lists. At the end of every year, I publish the list of the most memorable wines of the year – what can be a better proof of recognition? I analyzed all of the lists from 2010 to 2023 to see how often Chardonnay was included, and only in its pure form, not as a part of the blend – and it appears that Chardonnay wines were a part of the Top Wines lists in 12 out of 14 years. For comparison, my beloved Rioja only made it into the 8 Top lists out of 14.

For what it is worth, in addition to my favorite collage picture of the Chardonnay wine labels over the years, I’m including here the list of my favorite Chardonnays of all time. I’m sure there are other wonderful Chardonnay wines that simply didn’t make it to the top list, but the list of wines below is still well-representative, Let’s take a look, in chronological order:

2010, #11 – Cambria Bench Break Chardonnay 2006, Santa Maria

2011, #4 – 2009 Peter Michael “Belle Cote” Estate Chardonnay

2012, #13 – 2008 Kovacs Nimrod Battonage Chardonnay, Eger Winery, Hungary

2013, a double entry
#12 – 2008 Seresin Chardonnay Reserve Marlboro New Zealand
#2 – 2005 Frédéric Gueguen Chablis Les Grandes Vignes

2015, #14 – 2012 Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Pomino Bianco Benefizio Riserva DOC

2016, again a double-entry
#17 – 2001 The Lucas Winery Chardonnay Lodi California
#9 – 2015 Vidon Vineyard Chardonnay Estate Chehalem Mountains, Oregon

2017, yet another double
#13 – 2012 Sandhi Chardonnay Santa Barbara County
#12 – 2016 Salabka LA COQUINE Chardonnay Praha Czech Republic

2018, #6 – 2015 Domaine Jean-Noel Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc 1er Cru Les Caillerets

2019, a triple!
#17 – 2017 Oceano Chardonnay Spanish Springs Vineyard San Luis Obispo County
#16 – 1990 Dom Ruinart Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Champagne
#9 – 2005 Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatory Metodo Classico Trento

2020, a double
#10 – 2016 Domaine Anderson Estate Chardonnay Anderson Valley California
#8 – 2018 Landmark Vineyards Overlook Chardonnay Sonoma County

2021, a double again
#9 – 2013 Lynmar Estate Chardonnay Russian River Valley
#4 – 2018 Le Cadeau Vineyard Chardonnay Willamette Valley

2023, #1 – 2021 Balverne Chardonnay Russian River Valley AVA

Just to give you another bit of information, among the 19 wines listed above (creme de la creme of Talk-a-Vino Chardonnay experiences) there are 2 sparkling wines, the rest are still wines from 7 different countries and winemaking regions – France, Italy, California, Oregon, New Zealand, Hungary, Czech Republic.

Here you are, my friends. I already feel better – two weeks later, but I acknowledged one of my most favorite grapes.

What are your most memorable Chardonnay wines?