Chardonnay Wine Tasting

I went to a 21st birthday party last night.  It was an elegant affair with the gentlemen in dinner jackets and black ties and the women in formal gowns.  A catered affair, with the finest of delicacies from around the culinary world.  Haute cuisine served on the most delicate china eaten with expensive silverware....pfft.  Yeah, right.  Suffice to say, it was a nice evening but far from formal (I'm looking at you Iain).  So to me, it seemed the perfect environment for a Chardonnay tasting.  Especially when one of the entrants has a label meant to resemble a tattoo.

Let's talk a little about Chardonnay.  If Pinot Noir can be said to reflect the talents of the wine maker, then Chardonnay can be said to reflect the talents of the grape growers as well as the terroir (the characteristics of the land the grapes are grown in, expressed in the taste).  But, this grape variety has a very checkered pedigree.  Many nations have taken credit for the origin of this grape and it was only due to recent DNA testing that the grape was found, probably, to be a mix of Pinot and Gouais Blanc.  The Chardonnay grape is - how should I put this - the slut of the grape world.  This grape takes to almost any soil and a wide variety of climates.  It has also been adaptable to cross breeding and is one of the most widely cloned and mutated varieties.  Chardonnay has a reputation of going with most foods, especially with the wide range of styles, there is probably a bottle that goes with everything.  As a result, and as any high school aged boy could predict, Chardonnay has become the most popular white wine grape in the world.  For a quick lesson in Chardonnay there is a pretty good Wikipedia article.

Once again, the rules were similar: all wines selected were under $20; the tasting was blind and there was an Ontario VQA entrant up against two nations known for their Chardonnay; and tasters were asked to rank the wines favourite to least 1-3 with a possible 33 first place points.  The one difference this time around was I asked the tasters to guess the origin of the wine.  We also had 11 tasters this time, so I think it gives a better representation of the tastes of my friends.  A note on the selections: a white Burgundy or Chablis grand cru would obviously be a stunning example along with the very best of California Chardonnays and Australians.  Les Clos Jordanne from Ontario could stand up- and, in fact has- to these higher examples.  But, the idea is to find good wines that fall in the < $20 category.  If you have never had, in your opinion, a good Chardonnay, may I suggest you bust the bank and try a Chablis, ask the clerk to help you out and you might find a decent one for under $30cad.

So now the line-up:

From France, Laurent Miquel "Pere et Fils" Chardonnay non vintage @$12.
From the USA Rutherford Wine Co. Gold Ring Organic 2009  @$16.95
From Canada Indelible Wines Vintage Ink Chardonnay 2010  @$16.95 (A note to last night's tasters. I kept saying this was from 13th St.  That is because I am an idiot.  A look at the label would have let you know that.)

The results:

Hide your eyes if you are a fan of California organic wines. The overwhelming favourite with 29 points and 8 of 11 first place votes was Indelible Wines Vintage Ink.  Second place with 24 points and 2 first place votes was the French Laurent Miquel Pere et Fils and in third with 13 points and no first place votes was the Gold Ring Organic from California.

None of the wines were considered undrinkable and, in fact, the Chardonnay drinkers in the crowd liked all three.  The winner was described as more full bodied and creamier.  Most people thought that the Canadian wine was from France while most thought the French wine was from the US.  Two people guessed all three correctly.  For those of you who were there A was Canadian, B was Californian and C was French.  The wines we tasted were emblematic of the Chardonnay style in that each had a different style and ranged from the mineral to the creamy to the fruity.  This time, more than last, the tasters were quite surprised by their choice.  I will be adding the winner to my list of wines in the column to the right and look forward to many pleasurable evenings with this versatile, popular and easy going wine, which could be just as at home at casual gatherings and formal affairs.