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Most other wineries that make Chardonnay follow the
same track, though perhaps not as far.
It’s ironic that Napa is even known for Chardonnay,
though consumers identify it with the Valley as much as Cabernet
Sauvignon. Most wine experts consider most of Napa Valley too hot to
grow quality Chardonnay, but it succeeds here for a number of reasons.
For one, Chardonnay is a very adaptable grape. It
grows well in a variety of climates, though it produces better wine in
some areas. In warm places it develops higher sugars and less acid,
compatible with the popular style.
Also, southern areas of Napa County are
cool—compared to the northern part of the valley and the mountains are
also relatively cool and windy.
Ironically, where the grapes grow may not make much
difference. Chardonnay is a malleable grape, and winemakers use it as a
palette on which to paint. They can pick grapes very ripe for fuller
flavors and higher alcohol or residual sugar that create give an
unctuous feeling in the mouth.
Another type of manipulation is fermenting in new
toasted barrels, which imparts caramel and vanilla flavors from the
wood, and yet another is letting the wine age on spent yeast cells –
even stirring them up – which imparts yeasty flavors and a thick feeling
in the mouth.
A popular bacterial malolactic fermentation
converts tart malic acid to soft lactic acid, making the wine taste
creamy and buttery. It also reduces acidity, so winemakers add acid to
compensate.
Aging in new oak barrels highlights these
characteristics, and the result can taste more like a vanilla-caramel
liqueur than a table wine.
Fortunately, the pendulum is swinging back. Even
Kendall-Jackson has toned down the sweetness, oak and malolactic
fermentation in its popular Vintners’ Reserve Chardonnays and many other
wineries are doing the same.
They may be trying to recover some of the wine
lovers who’ve switched to “Anything But Chardonnay” -- Pinot Grigio,
Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño, Grüner Veltliner Gewürztraminer and Riesling,
even Chenin Blanc -- all of which have more distinctive natural flavors
and don’t respond well to this manipulation.
A few wineries never abandoned the classic lean
approach, including Chateau Montelena, whose Chardonnay beat the best of
Burgundy at the famous tasting in Paris 30 years ago next year. That’s
also true of Grgich-Hills, whose Mike Grgich made that famed wine, and
Stony Hill and Mayacamas.
They’ve been joined by others dipping in their toes
by cutting back or bottling leaner limited edition wines. A few have
even bottled “naked” Chardonnay with no oak or ML. These include Stags
Leap Wine Cellars with Arcadia Chardonnay, Pepi, St. Supéry and others.
The nude Chardonnays can be a bit boring,
however, which is why winemakers started fiddling with them in the first
place. I suspect that if you applied the same extensive processing to
neutral French Colombard or even Thompson seedless grapes the resulting
wine wouldn’t taste that different from “California” Chardonnay.
Better to apply a light touch, however, and you get
a wine that can challenge Chablis and other white Burgundies from
France, still the world standard for white wines.
Not surprisingly, one of the best balances is
attained by HdV, with a Burgundian winemaker, Stephén Vivier, as well
as a co-owner Aubert de Villiers who’s also director of Domaine Romanée
de la Conti, Burgundy’s most famous wine. The grapes come from Larry
Hyde’s cool Carneros vineyards.
Otherwise, pass the Sauvignon Blanc, which thrives
in Napa Valley, and hold the tarted up “reserve” Sauvignons that are
wanna-be Chardonnays. I prefer my white wine crisp and fresh.
-- end --
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