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Chardonnays for today

By Darryl Beeson

Chardonnay was defined in the cooler climate slopes of France's Burgundy region. California embraced the grape, adding lots of oak and butteriness to the equation. Here are a range of interesting Chardonnays to try.

Olivier LeFlaive "Les Setilles" Chardonnay, Burgundy 2004
Price $14.95
Rating 88
The nose and sip leans towards citrus brightness. Earthy complexity follows in the medium length. Bourgogne Blanc "Les Setilles" comes from the flatter eastern vineyards of Meursault (60%) and Puligny-Montrachet (40%). This could be the poor man's everyday white Burgundy. Fermentation is carried out 60% in Allier and Vosges oak barrels (average of 10% new), the rest in small stainless tanks. After aging on the
lees for 8-10 months, the fresh lots are blended in stainless vats and allowed to settle.

Olivier Leflaive was formed in 1984 by Olivier and his brother Patrick.  Unlike a conventional negociant who buys finished wines, the firm actually vinifies a wide range of Burgundian appellations from grapes and must (or juice) and now owns 25 acres. Under the supervision of winemaker Franck Grux, the wines are vinified, blended, and aged exactly as they would be at a top-ranked Domaine property.

Sonoma-Cutrer "Russian River Ranch" Chardonnay, Russian River 2003
Price $20
Rating 90
"Clear straw color. Oaky vanilla and tropical fruit identify this immediately as a California Chardonnay," says fellow reviewer Robin Garr. "Flavors are consistent with the aromas, crisp fruit and sweet oak; butter flavors are present but not overdone. Pleasant wine, showing better structure than many of its...competitors, works particularly well with food.

Butter and ripe fruit make it a natural match with scallops, pan-seared and finished with a slightly sweet lemon-limoncello sauce over pasta." For many years, this has been the benchmark of California Chardonnays. May owner Brown Forman continue to keep course. Likely they will.

Gundlach-Bundschu Chardonnay
Price $18
Rating 92
Gundlach-Bundschu's roots as a Sonoma winery go back to 1858. If they had
started in recent times, a marketing wiz or a focus group would have certainly vetoed the name.

The Chardonnay grapes are from the winery's Rhinefarm estate. The philosophy of winemaking is to showcase the exemplary fruit, with restrained oak involvement. They ferment the wine in stainless steel tanks, then later age for just three months in French oak. The Gundlach Bundschu Sonoma Valley Chardonnay displays subtle hints of peach and apricot, framed nicely enough in that little kiss of oak flavor. Because of the Rhinefarm vineyard's cool climate, the wine is crisp and refreshing.

Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay, Chalone 2003
Price $25
Rating 91
Chalone always produces a classic Chardonnay. The style possesses a salute to France's Burgundian style, rather than the more oaky, buttery Californian style. The
Chalone shows subtle French oak, leaner crispness and complexities in the long length.

Perched high in the remote Gavilan Mountain Range, 1,800 feet above California's Salinas Valley, Chalone Vineyard is a one-of-a-kind wine estate. This is extreme wine country, with limited rainfall, rare limestone- rich soils and distinctive high altitude coastal climate in which daily temperatures can vary by as much as 45 degrees. This unique terroir produces grapes of compelling fruit and richness. Chalone Vineyard grape yields are small (less than three tons per acre) by California standards. Learn more by visiting www.chalonewinegroup.com.

Murphy-Goode Chardonnay, Sonoma 2002
Price $15
Rating 91
The nose is steeped in toasty black walnut aromas. The sip is a balance of ripe tree fruit flavors along with toasty oak nuances. There are things like butter and bright citrus in the long length. This wine is barrel fermented in the traditional white wine Murphy-Goode combination of French and American oak barrels," says Tim Murphy. "A varying percentage of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation to add a slightly rounder texture while still preserving the fresh Chardonnay fruit characteristics. The apricot and
pear aromas and flavors of this clean, fresh Chardonnay are highlighted with just the right hint of oak." Discover more at www.murphygoodewinery.com.
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Darryl Beeson travels the world looking for great wine values. In the past, he has been wine steward or cellar master for The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Voltaire, and The Adolphus Hotel. Not one for stuffiness or secret handshakes relative to wine, this Texan might now be described as a "ki-yi-yippee sommelier, sommelier." Beeson reports on wine, spirits, food and travel for numerous publications.

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