Great Wine Made Simple - Andrea Immer [42]
Chardonnay Scorecard
Professional No wonder Chardonnay is celebrated throughout the wine world for its stylistic range and quality. You have just sampled three very different styles, all of them worthy. Given that range, can anyone characterize this chameleon grape? Despite its diversity, I think you can articulate Chardonnay’s signature—it is fruit. Compared to the rest of the Big Six whites—the delicate and floral Riesling, the tangy and herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc—Chardonnay’s style is fruit-driven, which surely explains its unparalleled popularity. Who doesn’t love fruit? Even the pickiest children will drink apple juice or eat a banana. Fruit gives us decadent flavor without excess. That is Chardonnay at its best.
Personal Mine is a love-hate relationship with the Chardonnay grape. Here’s why: As I have already pointed out, much of what is sold in this country is solidly middle of the road in terms of style. The big wineries achieve this by blending grapes from many regions, cool to warm, with the result that no particular style stands out in the final wine. Look at the labels of the big-selling, branded Chardonnays and you are likely to see “California” listed as the region, indicating a broad range of grape sources (usually including the hot Central Valley), versus a more specific, high-quality area such as Central Coast, Sonoma, or Santa Barbara. As I explained already, these wines are crafted for broad appeal and consistency. They are easy to buy because their style is standardized.
But there is a trade-off. Quite often, flavor and character get lost in the pursuit of quantity and homogeneity in winemaking. This is frequently the case when you are comparing mass-market versus handcrafted products. For example, a fast-food meal provides sustenance. But a gourmet repast, or a home-cooked meal lovingly prepared, can become a dining experience that stirs your senses and makes memories.
Similarly, the best wines can capture your sensory imagination, too. Unfortunately, in today’s market, I find that the Chardonnays that fill this bill are few and far between. And believe me, I taste dozens of them every week in search of good ones to offer my guests. Truthfully, 90 percent of them taste pretty dull and generic—alcohol without flavor.
Let me be clear. I do not expect everyday-priced wines to deliver a mind-blowing experience—that is unrealistic. And you are not always seeking a cerebral drinking experience, anyway. A casual cocktail, picnics, leftovers, and numerous other everyday situations just call for something tasty to drink, not a masterpiece. At every price point, the best wines are the ones that make your palate sit up and take notice, at least briefly (and sometimes even knock your socks off). Those are the wines I have recommended here.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir, like Riesling for the whites, grows best in climates that are cool, edging into moderate. Its historic home is the Burgundy region of France, whose wines have been famous for centuries. Oregon’s Willamette Valley (Will-AM-ett, not Will-uh-METT) also specializes in Pinot Noir, as do the coolest parts of coastal California (especially the Russian River Valley, Carneros, Monterey, and Santa Barbara) and Australia (notably the Adelaide Hills and Yarra Valley districts). Finally, New Zealand, which has quite a cool climate, is starting to emerge as a big source for quality Pinot Noir, often at good prices for the quality.
Pinot Noir from all the major regions is typically oak aged, but the amount of oakiness is matched to the intensity of the fruit. Thus, the cool-zone wines whose fruit is more delicate see less oak (either shorter time in oak, fewer new barrels, or both), while the more intense fruit in the moderate-zone wines can support more oak. Even within a region,