Louis Latour Ardèche Chardonnay, Ardèche, France 2020 (from £14.50, Ocado, noblegreenwine.co.uk; henningswine.co.uk) I can understand why people have a problem with chardonnay. Originally from Burgundy in eastern France, during the latter part of the 20th and the early part of the 21st centuries it spread through the world’s vineyards, a Starbucks or Coca-Cola-like colonising force whose near-ubiquity came at the expense of dozens of local varieties. It didn’t help that in many cases it was made according to a pair of off-the-peg recipes that were inspired by, but seldom lived-up to, the Burgundian originals: a lean unoaked style based on chablis; and a richer, oaky style initially inspired by Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, and then by the super-charged, butterscotched wines of the big commercial Australian and California brands. But I could never join the ABC Anything But Chardonnay club. Like the Beatles in pop music, chardonnay’s ubiquity can be annoying, but it’s only happened because the wines made from it hit the spot so often, not least this consistently good-value, unoaked, fresh but stone-fruit fleshy bottling from Burgundy producer Louis Latour’s Ardèche outpost.
Domaine de la Morinière La Nouvelle Lune Chardonnay, Loire Valley, France 2021 (£14.99, Adnams) The Ardèche is just one region where chardonnay has set up a happy French home from home. Among the other places it seems to thrive is the Loire Valley, both in the zesty blend with sauvignon blanc perfected by producers in the Cheverny appellation, and, increasingly, on its own, in places such as the vineyards around the Loire estuary where muscadet is made. Two standout examples from muscadet country – one blend, one pure chardonnay – were on show at a recent tasting put on in London by the group of six top independent wine merchants known collectively as The Bunch. Domaine de la Morinière’s chardonnay is a brilliant (in all senses) combination of subtly spiced ripe apples and ocean-spray-saline freshness; Famille Lieubeau La Fruitière Vignes Blanches, Loire Valley 2022 (£13.30, or £11.80 as part of a case of 12 bottles, hhandc.co.uk) is a 40/60 sauvignon/chardonnay blend that sings with freshly squeezed, seafood-matching citrus juice and zest.
Simpsons Roman Road Chardonnay, Kent, England 2022, (from £27.99, Grape Britannia;simpsonswine.com) Chardonnay was something of a theme among my favourite whites at another recent tasting, with very smart wines from Burgundy (the tinglingly pure and graceful Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau La Fournaise Saint-Véran 2019, £29.57, leaandsandeman.co.uk); the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia (the flinty fragrance electric acidity and pristine feel of Scorpo Aubaine Chardonnay 2021, £26.50, hhandc.co.uk); and the Sta Rita Hills in California (the outstanding, if expensive, windswept orchard vibes of The Hilt Estate Chardonnay 2019; £63, tanners-wines.co.uk). Increasingly, however, you don’t need to travel too far to find some of the world’s very best chardonnays. The boom in sparkling wine has made chardonnay the most widely planted grape variety in the UK, but not all of it is made into fizz: some of the fruit from this from Simpsons’ Roman Road vineyard in Kent’s North Downs, for example, is used to make a dry white that combines a spine of tensile, mouthwatering acidity with subtly savoury and creamy oak and ripe stone fruit flavours.
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