by Patrick Ogle

Chardonnay may seem a little out of place on a website called "surprising wines." It might seem more appropriate on a site called "ubiquitous wines." Chardonnay is everywhere. Cheap bottles and blends for under $10 a bottle abound, as do well crafted high end wines. It would be easy to find a Chardonnay that cost more than my last car.

What makes this wine interesting is both the location, Oregon, and the approach used making it. It is a natural wine that recalls different versions of classic Chardonnay without being identical to them.
 
Many people will be able to identify this wine with a sniff. It screams Chardonnay. After so many years of smelling and tasting various Chardonnay I have lost the ability to describe this "scream" but I know what it isn't here--overwhelming oak and over done malolactic fermentation (which gives that buttery taste).

This Statera, 2016, Corral Creek Vineyard Chelahem Chardonnay, is a pure expression of Chardonnay with orchard fruit, a bit of peach and bit of pear overlaid with a strong acidity. Maybe some honeydew melon. One adjective
that kept creeping into my head while drinking this was "spectacular." This was one of those times where it was hard to not just enjoy the wine and dispense with description and comparison.

When you think of unoaked chardonnay you may think of moderately priced Chablis and other Chardonnay that can be stark and citrusy. You might describe this as having citrus and starkness but the wine also has body and depth. None of this wine's characteristics overwhelm the others. 

This wine was created, crafted with a clear philosophy. First off one ofthe winemakers, Luke Wylde, views oak as an additive. No oak at all here but still a wine with complexity. This is a wine that we hang the natural wine tag on but it is as much a throwback to winemakers who wanted wines to be a product of terroir. Terroir refers to the unique combination of weather, climate, soil, elevation etc in the area where the grapes grow. 

Oregan is, more and more, being seen as a Chardonnay region and one that produces a distinctive version of the wine. It isn't Northern California Chardonnay nor is it Burgundy. It is a different iteration.  Wylde and Meredith Bell are the brains behind this wine. They partly funded this project with a Kickstarter. This enabled them to hold their bottles for a year before release to the public. Often smaller producers are forced, for financial reasons, to release wine right away. The fundraiser allowed them to hold not just the first bottling but subsequent bottlings for that crucial year.

Find out more about Statera Cellars HERE.

by Patrick Ogle

Can Feixes is a crisp refreshing white from Penedès Spain. There are a few tastes that you see written but here? You can taste some of them--straw for one. Now, that sounds like some sort of BAD flavor but it really isn't. Think of being in  a fresh field of straw on a fall day and the scent--not so much the sensation of having a mouth full of straw!

There is more here too. There is melon and maybe a little lime here too. Ive read others say "green apple" but I don't get that. You, however, might. It is super dry and minerally as well. It apparently grows in rocky, mineral soil which may account for this. There is also a hint of pepper and maybe some hints of the herbal.

The wine is  a blend of parellada, macabeo, chardonnay and malvasia. The first two grapes make up 72 percent of the wine with chardonnay making up 20 percent and malvasia 8 percent.

Can Feixes was founded in the mid 1700s and covers the some 400 acres or so in Penedès. Penedès is one of the finest wine growing regions in Spain--after perhaps Rioja and Priorat. It is also a wine-growing region of long standing; it might be one of the oldest regions in Europe. There is indication the Phoenicians brought vines to the area.

The area grows mostly white grapes (a contrast with nearby Priorat to be sure). Penedès produces the Spanish sparkler, Cava, as well. In fact, Penedès produces the vast majority of Cava (over 90 percent).

$13-15

by Patrick Ogle

Good Harbor 2012 Chardonnay is a high acid wine from the Leelanau Penninsula. Michigan and chardonnay are not words you usually associate like
"Florida" and "sanity" or "cuisine" and "Arby's". This is not to dismiss Michigan wines; there are excellent rieslings, cabernet francs and even gamay from the wolverine state.

But chardonnay?

I was suspicious but I suppose it is cold in Champagne.

The acidity in this wine is high--and indeed this may be the wine's most obvious characteristic. I recall a tiny, infinitesimal sweetness here but the more I think about it I might have come up with that based on what I was eating.

I had to really taste this to get at the fruit. There is a lemony hint without any hint of sour. It is more like the flavor of lemon zest. The acidity here, however, doesn't have a citrus feel.

It has some minerality. The wine is one both chardonnay drinkers and non-chardonnay drinkers may like. There is something almost French about this wine. Maybe this has to do with the winemaker letting the location determine the taste. Maybe it is the aging in neutral oak or the high acidity.

There is this prejudice against chardonnay which has always struck me as odd; chardonnay is an incredibly versatile and forgiving grape. A Chablis is different from a Northern California chardonnay and there are limitless variations of this example. Conversely wines from vineyards that are neighbors can be quite different. This isn't getting into all the wonderful sparkling wines made from chardonnay, Champagnes being only the most obvious example.

Good Harbor chardonnay is 12 percent alcohol (says even lower on the website).

This isn't going to make you pour your Montrachet down the sink?  Nor is it going to make you swear off Northern California chards. For $14-15 it is, however, a fairly solid wine. Keep in mind this is only if you are ok with the high acidity (which left me wondering if Good Harbor had any plans to make a sparkling wine).  The problem they have is that there are a large number of good chardonnays in this price range.

$13-15

Treviso La Llorena 2009 Viognier, Chardonnay And Roussanne Blend A Wine For Lovers Of Big Oaky Wine.

by Patrick Ogle

You need two words to describe this lovely Northern California blend—‘oak’ and ‘bomb’. At first taste you might think this is a straight up chardonnay varietal. It isn't. This wine is a blend of chardonnay, viognier and roussanne which are moderating influences that come into focus as you ponder ( although you don't really need to ponder; you can just drink). If you are fond of lighter wines or don't like oak this might not be for you.

This is, as noted, a big white that is nicely balanced with acidity and a hint of citrus. I tend to harp on balance over describing arcane fruit flavors. When someone says a wine tastes like peach pits do you really sense that? I am not suggesting it isn't there simply that it doesn't matter when most folks are having a glass of wine. On the other hand a wine that is unbalanced, sweet with no acidity or acidic without fruit etcetera; these are wines you probably don't want to be drinking (unless it is free).

Viognier and roussanne often impart similar, but not identical, flavors to a wine. You will hear “stonefruit” (peaches, apricots) for the former and usually pear and even tea in descriptions of the latter. Viognier also give the wine some viscosity, a sensation that might be described as oily (nothing to do with the taste). The texture of a wine can influence your drinking experience as much as flavor.

This blend is one you will find in France (Languedoc), USA (California )and occasionally other places. When you see this blend do not assume it will always taste similar. Different winemakers use wildly different proportions in such blends. This version has 45 percent chardonnay, 45 percent viognier and 10 percent roussanne. The preponderance of chardonnay and viognier here are what lend this wine its weight, is big body while the touch of roussanne adds acidity and lighter aromatics.

$33-37

by Patrick Ogle

Crystallum Agnes chardonnay 2010 may be the wine that makes you rethink the notion of South Africa's white wine being chenin blanc. This wine comes from several different South African vineyards. The average wine drinker will probably not know the areas of the different vineyards (I didn't) but they all have different soil composition. Soil composition makes a great deal of difference in how a wine tastes. Combining grapes from different vineyards with different soil compositions will create a wine that uses all the different characteristics that comes from the different soil. Grapes from different vineyards, chosen with care can create a wine as excellent as a single vineyard wine (maybe).

The wine is aged in French oak barrels where it stayed 9 months. The result is a wine that is oaked but not overly oaked. It is a chardonnay that all chardonnay lovers can embrace. Some yammer about "no oak" or "oaky" or "no butteriness" or "very buttery."  This wine balances all of this in a way that can almost be described as perfect. If you cannot accept a chardonnay unless it is MASSIVELY oaky or you feel a wine must be so oaky if feels like you are drinking dissolved butter? You may not like this wine but then you probably don’t actually like wine.

It isn’t super fruity but maybe various citrus flavors are there in the mix.  It has something you could describe as floral but that is always a tricky flavor description with me. It sounds like people making things up because while there may be a whiff of that when you sniff? It isn’t so apparent when you actually drink the wine.

I was told the 2009 was even better than this one which is startling because 2010 is pretty solid.  The 2010 version is the second vintage of this chardonnay.  You could probably save this wine for a few years even now and be happy with it? But it isn’t going to be terribly easy to find. One question to ask yourself here is; is this worth the price tag? It is good but it is going to cost you around $50. Can you find a chardonnay to your taste for less, even significantly less? Possibly.

But as time goes on keep an eye on the winery.

$45-55