CHARDONNAY IS STILL OK - OK?

No doubt you have heard that stupid expression - 'ABC' meaning 'Anything But Chardonnay'. This was coined (probably by bloody Pinot Gris growers) around the time that Australia and USA was flooding the world with cheap, flabby and uninteresting wines labelled as Chardonnay. I have some friends who will not touch Chardonnay finding it too woody, too flabby, too sweet, too dry, too  acidic, too 'grapefruity' - too something or other. This is very telling. To me it says that Chardonnay producers have lost the plot. Once you could purchase Chardonnay and pretty much know what you were going to get (vintage variations dependant) based on price, pedigree, country of origin and region. Today it is a minefield. There has been too much production for brands that have to meet critical price points. Shortcuts have to be taken giving us lighter, paler imitations of the real thing which culminates in that marketing 'Edsel' the unwooded Chardonnay. What a bloody travesty that is. Good Chardonnay needs judicious use of wood depending on the structure of the chosen fruit for barrel fermentation and or barrel ageing. In my financially strained circumstances I have had to purchase cheaper offerings of late. I try to buy the top quality product that has been reduced in price but sometimes get gypped. I have written before about the inevitability of producers 'engineering' product downwards if there is too much discounting. Some of my favourite brands are showing just that with 2009 and 2010 offerings being lesser than their 2008 and 2007 ancestors.

What a pleasant surprise it was being able to buy some Clearview Beachhead 2009 Chardonnay at half price due to a 'clearance' sale. This is seriously good Hawkes Bay Chardonnay from one of the best Hawkes Bay producers. Sure, it is not as stunning as his top 'Reserve' range but it most likely has a hell of a lot of the 'Reserve' wine in it given the difficulty of selling $40 wines nowadays. This Chardonnay is not an unwooded style. It is barrel fermented but, not being the top Reserve wine, is fruit-driven in style with lovely tropical Chardonnay flavours. The wood fermenting and ageing gives it a buttered toast character that is very pleasant. Chardonnay without good use of oak tends to be coarse and flabby. This is not. It is mealy and interestingly chewy. I think I'll buy some more.