Finding That Balance in California Chardonnay

First there was lean, lower alcohol Chardonnays then riper fruit (meaning higher alcohol levels) with lots of oak and often some residual sugar. So in the last part of the 20th century as the California wine scene flourished Chard went from lean and mean to soft and rich. Interestingly, either way it kept its place as the top-selling wine in the country.

A Napa winery I worked at 15 years ago had their "basic" oaky, buttery Chardonnay then their high-end one of huge butter and oak flavors and no acid to be found (I'm sure the acid was there, but it was just buried). People loved that stuff.

Then the backlash. There was the ABC gang (Anything But Chardonnay). There was a rise in popularity of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. To win back this crowd along came "naked" Chardonnay with no malolactic (where the butteriness comes from) and no oak (used for texture, can add vanilla, butterscotch, and nuttiness). They found a few followers with this style. But just as in the oak and butter days where winemakers might say, "If a little is good then a lot more would be better" there now was the, "Oak and butter are evil" winemakers. It turns out the Chardonnay grape just doesn't have very exciting flavors without some additions.

Chardonnay seems to be finding its balance. As I get older and have more years of experience with wine there's a greater appreciation for restraint and balance. Chardonnay is being planted in cooler climates where you get natural acidity and less ripeness. People are cutting back on the malolactic (again, the butter) and oak. It turns out a little bit of this rounds out the wine just right.

Whether you like the big, buttery style, the lean style, or something in between there is often no way to know what you're buying. Mostly you have to know a winery's style. For instance, La Crema and  Rombauer are famous for being big and buttery. Local producer Hanzell is well-known for their leaner, "Old World" style. Sometimes the growing area will help. For instance, most Sonoma Coast wine will go towards the leaner, higher acid style. Flowers is a highly-regarded producer of Sonoma Coast Chards (they are not cheap). The leaner ones will sometimes be called naked or unoaked. Now the buttery guys like La Crema and Sonoma Cutrer make Chards from Sonoma Coast grapes, also.

Someday maybe restraint and balance will return to Zinfandel, too.