American Chardonnay: The top bottles worth seeking out

Chardonnay ’s unique appeal lies in a certain blank-canvas malleability. At its core, it’s a wine of transparency, a mirror to terroir and the brushstrokes of a winemaker’s technique. In the US, however, its hallmark style – big, buttery Californiaesque wines plump with tropical fruit and new-oak flavours – is subject to nearly as much scorn as adoration. Yet Chardonnay is America’s most popular white wine among consumers by far, its market share exceeding 15%, according to Silicon Valley Bank’s 2023 State of the US Wine Industry report, with Pinot Grigio following at just above 8% (SipSource data to September 2022). Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 30 top American Chardonnays [subscriber-content]Despite its enduring popularity, the basic prototype of the American Chard historically capitalised on a cheerful yet generic expression of place and fabrication. The most commercially successful American Chardonnays are sun-soaked yet ubiquitous wines that are largely replicable wherever sufficient ripeness can be achieved. But, looking behind the shadow of America’s big-brand Chardonnay, you’ll find an entirely different landscape of diverse, impactful Chardonnay has flourished. If it’s been a while since you’ve taken a good, long look at American Chardonnay, things will not be how they were even a decade ago. Overwhelmingly, wines are sharper these days. A few pounds lighter and less reliant on make-up, they’re digging increasingly inwards, not outwards, for inspiration. Soil and site-driven, America’s most dynamic Chardonnays are keen, often hyperspecific expressions of this country’s remarkable diversity. Across the nation California is still the touchstone of American Chardonnay. But it’s also home to some of the most thrillingly divergent expressions of the variety. Tasted blind, they can be enigmatic puzzles of topography, exposition, climate and soil. The electric Chardonnay coaxed from wind-blasted pockets of the Santa Rita Hills couldn’t be more different from the rich, earthen Chards of old, low-yield vines atop the Santa Cruz Mountains. In Oregon ’s Willamette Valley, a cool-climate region where the Pacific ocean tempers long, dry growing seasons and rainy winters, comparisons to Burgundy are increasingly difficult to avoid. Oregon is a hotbed for the Burgundian grape varieties and home to increasing numbers of high-profile transplants from Drouhin, Jadot, MéoCamuzet and more. ‘No one’s interested in making facsimiles of Burgundy,’ says Sashi Moorman, the California winemaker who, with business partner Raj Parr, owns and operates Evening Land Vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills. But there’s no denying, Moorman says, that Burgundian traditions have served as a ‘north star’ in crafting complex, ageworthy, nuanced wines in Oregon. See all 57 of Anna Lee Iijima's American Chardonnay recommendations Mainly grown in the desert lands east of the Cascade Mountains, Chardonnay in Washington State seemed historically poised to mimic the commercially lucrative Californian style. But a heightened awareness of Chardonnay-specific terroir along with keen restraints in winemaking yield wines of renewed balance and finesse there, too. On the east coast, New York State , particularly the Finger Lakes, is a standout region for Chardonnay of increasing subtlety and nuance. It’s also one of the few regions remaining where physiologically ripe, flavourful Chardonnay can be produced with high natural acidity and alcohol hovering below the 13% mark, suggests winemaker Nathan Kendall, who produces Chardonnay for his Nathan K and Hickory Hollow brands. ‘The landscape for American Chardonnay is much healthier than it’s ever been’, says Dan Petroski, owner and winemaker of Massican in Napa Valley. ‘America will always have its beautifully rich, tropical wines,’ but, he says, American Chardonnay ‘is increasingly reflective of the global culture of Chardonnay’, not just the snapshot that California once defined it as. [/subscriber-content] 30 top American Chardonnays to try [wine-collection] Related articles A brief history of Black winemaking in the US Harlan Estate: Secrets behind its vine-by-vine approach Exploring Sonoma County’s coolest vineyards plus top wines from each

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American Chardonnay: The top bottles worth seeking out

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 30 top American Chardonnays

30 top American Chardonnays to try

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