At both Teddington and Richmond Wine Societies at the end of June we asked the question is “Anything But Chardonnay” Out of Date?
So many people now say they don’t like Chardonnay (even some people attending the tastings), and we agreed that what had been a novelty back in the 80s when Oddbins presented us with an oaky Australian Chardonnay from Rosemount or Lindemans had become a caricature – too many new world wines made from the unfortunate grape variety had spent far too long with a teabag of toasty oak chips stewing in their tank, and too many were too alcoholic, too over extracted and too unpleasant. Meanwhile a fashion for Chablis had encouraged too much thin rather tasteless acidic wines onto the market, while Burgundy sorted its cork taint out and frankly became awfully good and terribly expensive.
This was a chance to reset. We worked our way through a variety of styles and price points that showed that the Chardonnay grape can have lovely flavour and complexity, and with judicious use of oak (or no oak and decent ageing on lees) develop wonderful depth and texture and evolve beautifully. From a Beaujolais Blanc without a whiff of oak to a very classy Margaret River Chardonnay with plenty of toasty oak matched by lovely fruit we tasted the range, and everyone found something to like. Some of the price points were a little edgy, but anyone who has £40 to spare could do worse than buy a bottle of 2015 Chardonnay from the Greywacke Estate in Marlborough New Zealand, nicely proving there is more to Marlborough than Sauvignon Blanc, and more to Chardonnay than France!
At Teddington we enjoyed coq-au-vin and some very nice cheeses, while at the Britannia our menu was a tomato and mascarpone salad with chicken main (delicious as always).
For details of the wines, please visit the Wines we have tasted page.