For the past 6 weeks, Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya has
been conducting wine education classes at Vino Italian Tapas and Wine Bar. What
he originally envisioned was a cozy class of a dozen or so “students” who
enjoyed wine but yearned for more information especially from arguably, the 50th’s
most eminently qualified teacher of all things wine, Chuck Furuya himself.
However Chuck underestimated the response to these classes and what was planned
for 12 students once monthly quickly morphed into 20 or so students three times
a month. The January classes of Wine 101 focused on that most recognizable
white wine, Chardonnay. The February classes of Wine 201 focused on wine and
food pairing while this month’s Wine 301 classes focuses on how the same grape
varietal produces vastly different results in different soils and climates.
So to honor my personal wine sensei, I present to you Kanpai 101 and like Furuya-san, will focus
on the ubiquitous white wine, Chardonnay.
What is
Chardonnay?
For starters, Chardonnay is the child of both a red and a
white grape, Pinot Noir being the red parent and Gouais Blanc being the white
parent. While most of you have heard of Pinot Noir popularized in the movie
Sideways, I’m sure not many have even heard of Gouais Blanc as it’s rarely
planted these days for wine production. In fact while I was still an
undergraduate at the University of Hawaii, it was still thought that Chardonnay
was a member of the Pinot family and I still remember my fledgling wine
collection contained a bottle of Pinot Chardonnay from that esteemed Frenchman,
Paul Masson. Since then, DNA analysis revealed that though its parentage
includes Pinot Noir, Chardonnay is a standalone grape varietal.
Because Chardonnay is easily cultivated and adapts to a variety
of growing conditions, it is grown in many different regions from the Napa
Valley and Sonoma Coast of Northern California to the Monterey and Santa
Barbara regions of the Central Coast of California all the way up to the cooler
climates found in Washington State. It’s also grown in Australia, New Zealand
and South Africa along with cooler regions in Italy. However most oenophiles
would argue that its greatest expression is in the wines of Burgundy and
Chablis along with the Champagne region in France.
Grape Ripening
The following discourse on grape ripening applies to all
grape varietals, red and white alike. Ripening occurs on two main levels, sugar
ripening and physiologic ripening and the factors leading to each process runs
counter to each other. Whereas sugar ripening simply requires adequate
nutrients and water plus ample sunshine and heat, physiological ripening
requires a longer “hang time” of the grape bunches to develop the necessary
polyphenols and acids that gives the grape and eventual wine complexity. However,
once the sugar level hits a certain point, you have to pick your grapes or risk
a highly alcoholic wine (more sugar in the grape juice means higher alcohol
levels in the finished wine) or a wine with more residual sugar than you want
(stopping fermentation prematurely limits alcohol levels but also creates a
sweeter wine). And if the grape hasn’t developed the necessary polyphenols and
acids because it was picked too early, the finished wine will lack flavor,
complexity and won’t have any aging potential.
ABC
About 15 years ago, there was a backlash against
Chardonnay termed “ABC” or “Anything But Chardonnay” mainly because most of the
readily available Chardonnay were huge, fruit driven, buttery, oaky, alcoholic
wines that didn’t really pair with most dishes. While the valley floor of Napa
County has fertile soil, adequate moisture and abundant sunshine to grow most
crops, unlimited resources doesn’t translate to great wines. Add warmer
fermentation temperatures where sharper malic acid is converted to softer
lactic acid with new oak barrel aging and you end up with rich, oaky, buttery
Chardonnay. Pleasant to take a sip or two but it quickly overwhelms the palate
and forget about pairing it with food unless your dish is laden with butter,
cream and cheese. Therefore this Chardonnay backlash was almost as extreme as
the Merlot backlash that occurred after Sideways was released. But time and
knowledge usually refines anything, wine production included.
Can the Golden
State produce a golden Chardonnay?
They can and do produce great Chardonnays with the secret
being what your real estate agent always told you, location, location,
location. Select vineyards with cooler climates like the Sonoma Coast or the Central
Coast near Monterey where the cold winds of the Pacific constantly buffet the
vineyard. Also select vineyards at higher altitudes just above the fog line
where the cooler temperatures allow longer “hang time” for the grape bunches
but Southerly sun exposure allow enough heat for sugar ripening. Or do
temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel barrels to reduce the
malo-lactic fermentation preserving the sharper acids in the finished wine to
balance the vanilla, butter and oak flavors. Finally – and this sounds counter
intuitive – select vineyards with meager soils especially those with limestone,
rock and sand so each vine only produces a limited number of grape bunches. But
with fewer grape bunches to ripen, more plant resources go to each bunch.
The Standard
Arguably, the wines of the Cote de Beaune in Burgundy,
Chablis and Champagne produce the greatest expression of Chardonnay. I mean,
the French did have several hundred years head start on the Americans. So by
now, they know exactly which parcels of land produce the best grapes and
resulting wines. And with Chardonnay, the common theme is limestone soils which
sit just a feet or so below the surface for the best Grand Cru wines down to
several feet for Premier Cru wines down to yards or more for Village designated
wines. The other big difference between Burgundian Chardonnay and American
Chardonnay is the fruit. When you first sniff a white Burgundy, other than that
characteristic funkiness that blows off, you get mineral, stone that eventually
gives way to semi-dried stone fruit and candied citrus peel. If the wine is
aged long enough, you even get hints of truffle and coconut. But no fleshy,
fresh ripe fruit like you might in a domestic Chardonnay.
The difference with Chablis which is slightly farther
north of Burgundy is the soil also contains Kimmeridgian clay along with
fossilized oyster shells which give young Chablis a flinty, steely mouthfeel.
Being a colder climate, Chablis usually also has more acid and because new oak
isn’t used here, the acid gives the wine a refreshing quality which makes it
very food friendly.
Even further North in the Champagne region, Chardonnay is
blended with Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier for Brut and rose champagnes or
bottled on its own as Blanc de Blanc champagne though the dissolved yeast cells
take most of the credit for the complexity in champagne.
Give it another
try
So if you were one of those initially turned off by those
oaky, buttery, alcoholic Chardonnays, I say give Chard another try. Just look
for bottles from the Sonoma Coast or the Central Coast in the Golden State or
Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet in Burgundy or Chablis
or Blanc de Blanc champagne. Here’s my short list of Chardonnay at various
price points:
Less than $20
La Crema
Broadside Wild Ferment
$20 to $40
Au Bon Climat
Ferrari-Carano
Varner
Brewer-Clifton
More than $50
Leflaive Chassagne-Montrachet
Faiveley Meursault
Littorai
Sky’s the limit
Raveneau Chablis
Dauvissat Chablis
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