Chardonnay is the white wine equivalent of Merlot—a vinous Rodney Dangerfield that "don't get no respect." It has become a victim of its own success: sought so assiduously in the marketplace and ordered so often by the glass that it has nearly been rendered terminally banal. And that's a pity since many would agree that the grape produces, as exemplified by the likes of Corton-Charlemagne and the various hyphenated Montrachets in France's Burgundy region, the world's greatest dry white wines. Its significance hinges on its being one of only a handful of varieties (the others being Riesling   More

Chardonnay is the white wine equivalent of Merlot—a vinous Rodney Dangerfield that "don't get no respect." It has become a victim of its own success: sought so assiduously in the marketplace and ordered so often by the glass that it has nearly been rendered terminally banal. And that's a pity since many would agree that the grape produces, as exemplified by the likes of Corton-Charlemagne and the various hyphenated Montrachets in France's Burgundy region, the world's greatest dry white wines. Its significance hinges on its being one of only a handful of varieties (the others being Riesling in white, and Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo in red) whose most notable features are not a particular constellation of aromas and flavors, but rather that they are blindingly "transparent"—i.e., they act a lens, or amplifier, through which the attributes of a specific site or terroir can be expressed.

Winemakers can, and do, produce Chardonnay in a staggering array of styles. Some are the result of super- (often over-) ripe fruit, both fermented and aged (prior to bottling) in small oak barrels, with heady alcohol levels; these are often thought of as "buttery," due to their viscous textures, but sometimes they're simply heavy and ponderous. At the other extreme are those made from grapes picked at lower sugar levels, fermented at cool temperatures in stainless steel tanks, and then bottled without seeing so much as a sliver of oak; these are lighter in body, higher in acidity, and—depending on your point of view—either meagerly endowed, skinny wines or taut, precise, and refreshing.

If anything, California Chardonnay is better today than ever before, the result of growers having eventually concluded that, like Pinot Noir, this is a grape best planted in cooler regions.   Less