In the sauvignon blanc-saturated world we live in, it’s easy to forget just how delicious chardonnay can be. Of course, you may regularly drink chablis or some other white burgundy, but given the fact that bottles that bear the C word are often tucked away on lower shelves, you may not have picked up a chardonnay for a while.
I’m as culpable as the next woman, sipping my way through crisp, fragrant whites and rosés for the past few months – barring one evening, when I tried Kiwi producer Rod Macdonald’s gorgeously creamy One Off Chardonnay 2014 (£15.99 farflungwines.com; 13.5% abv), from Hawkes Bay, and wondered why I didn’t drink chardonnay more often. With the transition to the richer-flavoured vegetables of autumn, such as squash, mushrooms and parsnips, now’s the time to give it another try.
If you have a Booths on your doorstep, take advantage of its current three-for-two offer on bottles over £10 to load up with another Kiwi producer, the stellar Kumeu River, whose sumptuous 2011 Estate Chardonnay (14% abv) comes down to £12.66 a bottle, from £18.99, if you buy three. The basic Kumeu Village Chardonnay 2012 (13% abv), down to £7.99 from £11.99 on the deal, is an even better bargain. It costs as much as £13.99 elsewhere, though if you’re a member, the Wine Society has it at £9.95. (A tip: don’t chill the life out of these older vintages – give them no more than an hour in the fridge, then pour into large, red wine-sized glasses, but fill only halfway, so they don’t warm up too much.)
New Zealand is not the only place that makes great chardonnay. I’d also check out South Africa, Chile and Australia. The Co-Op has the excellent Thelema Sutherland Chardonnay 2012 (£10.99; 13% abv), from Stellenbosch, in its larger stores. You’d be thrilled to get a wine of that quality for the price from Burgundy (barring the Lidl bargains I recommended the other week). Even cheap Aussie chardonnay, which once tasted like tinned peaches, is greatly improved. The Co-Op’s very decent Australian Chardonnay (13.5% abv), in its Truly Irresistible range, is just £6.99.
