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Celebrate Chardonnay! 2025 Edition
Okay, I missed it again.
On Thursday, May 22, we celebrated Chardonnay Day. And I didn’t post about it.
Well, I didn’t entirely miss it. There was Charodnnay in my glass, so I only missed writing about it on time, but the celebration itself – yes, I participated.
Chardonnay is one of my favorite grapes. Well, those who know me understand that this is a difficult thing for me to say. I love wine in general, and therefore, I really don’t have grapes I don’t like. I might not be a fan of some producers, but grapes or varietal wines per se—I love them all. And yet, when it comes to favorite grapes, I have to shortlist Chardonnay among 20-30 ones I feel comfortable calling “favorites”.
Chardonnay is one of the most versatile grapes, perfectly capable of creating delicious wines from the bone-dry, unoaked versions to the full-on, hedonistic bombs. Chardonnay wines can be wonderful in still, sparkling, and even late harvest renditions, and they are produced literally everywhere – Asia, Middle East, Europe, North America, South America – see, I’m not even trying to be any more region specific, as it is pointless, or I would almost have to name every appellation in existence.
I also have another proof of the “favorite” status. In last year’s Chardonnay’s celebratory post, I counted the number of times Chardonnay wines were included in the Talk-a-Vino Top Wines of the year lists. During 14 years, there were only two years when Chardonnay wines were not present in the top two dozens, and a total of 19 Chardonnay wines were included in those top lists. Then, last year, 2024, the top wines list had 3 Chardonnay wines in it, including the 2024 wine of the year – an Italian Chardonnay from Banfi.
The pleasure of the well-made Chardonnay starts from the very first whiff from the glass. Vanilla, fresh apples, a touch of butter, and, if you are lucky, the honey. This is what makes me say “ahh” in the first place. And then, when vanilla, apples, butter, honey, smothered with a touch of lemon, continue in the first sip, this is where you say “oh my god…”. The key to this Chardonnay pleasure is in full harmony and balance of the flavors – if any of the components sticks out or is absent, this is where the pleasure instantly stops. Of course, the balance is a key element of any wine, but some of the wines can get away with too much acidity or too much oak and still give you pleasure, including a generic Chardonnay. But the harmony and balance are what differentiate a great Chardonnay from an average one.
I also love to use great Chardonnay as a reference point. For example, I compared my 2022 wine of the year, 2020 Abadia Retuerta L’Domaine from Ribera Del Duero, a Sauvignon Blanc-based blend, with Chablis. Chardonnay was also my analogy for the 2024 wine of the year, 2020 Mariasy Tokaji Furmint from Hungary, made from Furmint. And a few weeks ago, I had Grande Rocim White from Alentejo in Portugal (I have yet to write about it), made from 100% Portuguese native Arinto grape, which would successfully compete with Puligny-Montrachet I never had.
The wine I opened to celebrate Chardonnay Day was 2022 Maison Matisco Les Buis Saint-Véran AOC (13% ABV), one of my recent WTSO finds. The wine had a beautiful light golden color, and had a perfect Chardonnay profile as I described above – apples, vanilla, a distant hint of honey and butter (the last two might be just my imagination). The same profile continued on the palate, with the addition of the lemon. The wine initially had a slightly bitter aftertaste, which dissipated after a few hours. This wine will not make a list of great Chardonnays here at Talk-a-Vino, but I will be happy to open it any time I crave a Chard.
There, I told you my story. How did you celebrate Chardonnay Day?
Reminiscing About Chardonnay
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?
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