Are We Wrong About Oaky Chardonnay?

Show Notes

Episode 133: Are We Wrong About Oaky Chardonnay? 00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

If you are new to our podcast, here is a quick orientation! Each week, we explore a different wine varietal or blend—like Pinot Noir or Barolo or Chardonnay — and dive into what makes it unique, special, and worth learning about. Our goal is to help you expand your wine knowledge in a fun way that normal people can understand. We also taste and review 2-3 wines under $20 each, and share our scores and recommendations to help you find great wines without breaking the bank. And, we are proud to say that Decanter Magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining. 

So, here we are, Carmela. A place I never thought we would be. Spurred on by listener Dean who implored us to find some good, oaky Chardonnays that he could buy for his wife, we are facing down our fears. Maybe we were even bullied a bit. Today, we are going to taste and review - in all seriousness - oaky Chardonnays to see if there are any we can recommend.

I will say we had what was, for us, a reasonably oaky and buttery Chardonnay last week in our review of Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve wines, and we liked it enough to give it a buy recommendation, so there is hope. However, we are not sure if that was truly an oaky Chardonnay that oaky Chardonnay lovers would call an oaky Chardonnay. And we also hope that our good friend Chardonnay Shea is listening to this episode. 

We didn’t know there was a name for people like us, but evidently there is. According to an article by an author named Pamela Vachon that was in Men’s Journal, we are known as ABC people - Anything But Chardonnay. The article is entitled “Chardonnay Has an Oak Problem” and we have a link to it in our show notes, but her premise is the same as ours - Chardonnay is a perfectly wonderful wine grape that makes fabulous wines, including the beautiful sparkling wine Champagne - but when it is oaked it takes on a wholly different persona, and some people love it, and some people just don’t.

She also points out, as we have, that Chardonnay, even from the area of Burgundy, is not always oaked, and in fact we love Chablis, and generally Chablis from Burgundy is not oaked. And we are seeing more and more bottles of Chardonnay labeled as unoaked in stores. So we are clearly not the only ones. 

But Chardonnay is the most popular white wine in the world, so there are plenty of people who love it, oak and all. Unoaked, Chardonnay is a really lovely wine (yes, I said lovely) with apple and tropical fruit and citrus aromas and flavors. Oaking gives it some extra flavors of vanilla and spice and butterscotch. Which is not necessarily bad, unless that is the only thing you can taste.

The tricky thing about oaked Chardonnay is that not all oaked Chardonnay is made equally. The article from Pamela Vachon explains this, but the time on oak in the barrel, the age of the oak, and the type of oak used - whether it is American oak which is very oaky or French oak which is less so - all matter. A lot Cheap Chardonnay wines even sometimes forgo the barrels altogether as a way to save money and just throw in a bunch of oak chips, which generally creates a pretty crappy wine experience in my opinion. 

But Dean wanted us to try oaky Chardonnay, so we are going to do that today, and we are going to withhold our judgment until we taste them. Because, again, last week we found one we liked! We are going to talk a bit more about oaky Chardonnay, and where you generally find oaky Chardonnays, and we have three Chardonnays that are all reasonably priced, had good ratings, and should be relatively easy to find that we are going to taste and review . . . 

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

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And we want to make content you care about and you like, so send us a note and tell us what you like and don’t like, if there are wines you want us to try or wine making areas of the world you are curious about - and we’ll take care of it! And this week we got a confirmation from another listener named Christine that she agrees we should do an episode on Portuguese wines that Adrienne recommended last week, and she said we should do an episode on Port in the winter, so we have got it on the list!

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should recommend The Wine Pair Podcast to so we can keep growing listeners. This week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who loves oaky Chardonnay, or, even better, anyone who thinks they don’t like oaky Chardonnay -  because they may learn something in this episode, and maybe even change their minds!

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.mensjournal.com/wine/chardonnay-has-an-oak-problem#gid=ci02dd834140002554&pid=to-oak-or-not-to-oak 
• https://www.virginwines.co.uk/hub/wine-guide/wine-types/types-of-white-wine/#:~:text=Chardonnay,-Style%20and%20structure&text=The%20most%20popular%20type%20of,the%20grapes%20have%20been%20cultivated. 

Topic: What Makes Oaky Chardonnay Oaky? 09:11

Now, let’s spend some time talking about oaky Chardonnay. The first thing to note is that you can generally bet on getting an oaky Chardonnay if you get one from Burgundy in France or California, particularly the Russian River Valley and Napa. Chardonnays from Washington state are also generally oaked, as are Chardonnays from Southern and Eastern Australia, and Argentina. 

What makes a Chardonnay oaky? Well, obviously, putting it on oak will make it oaky, but as I mentioned before, not all oaked Chardonnay is going to be super oaky. And, on a side-note, oaking does not make a Chardonnay buttery - the butteriness has to do with a thing we have talked about before called malolactic fermentation. There is an article in our show notes that talk about that, so we will leave it alone, but just note that buttery and oaky - both descriptors used in some Chardonnays, are different things. 

When it comes to oak, not all barrels are created equal. French oak tends to be milder and is said to impart more of a spicy flavor, while Amerian oak is quite strong and gives more of a sweet vanilla or caramel flavor. There is also Hungarian oak which can vary a bit, but it tends to be a bit on the sweet side as well and can give off butterscotch and clove flavors.

The age of the oak barrel matters, too, as newer oak imparts more oak flavors. Older oak, or used oak, sometimes called neutral oak, will tamp down on the oakiness because some of that oakiness has left the barrel and gone into the wine that was in it before. It’s like trying to make coffee from the same coffee grounds you just used. The second time around there is less flavor. The size of the barrel matters, too, but we are not going to go into a ton of depth here. Again, there are articles in our how notes you can use to find out more if you want to dig in. If you want stronger oak flavors, look for the wine to say it uses new oak, and for less oakiness, look for wines that say neutral or second use or used oak. 

Along with giving some flavor to the wine, oak can change some other aspects. For instance, oaking reduces acidity - and acidity is what makes wines crisp - so an oaked Chardonnay will lack that puckering quality, and be considered rounder and smoother in the mouth. This may make it a little less food friendly, because it can sort of overtake your palette. But, again, that is a matter of taste. 

Another reason why winemakers oak Chardonnay, especially in warm climates, is that the grapes can get very ripe which leads to more sugar in the grapes which then leads to more alcohol in the wine. Oak adds tannin to a wine, and tannins can balance out alcohol. Generally, the higher alcohol a wine is, the more tannins you want. And oak also allows Chardonnay to age a bit, so you don’t have to drink it right away. Which is why you see Chardonnays from California and parts of Australia oaked because the hot weather makes higher alcohol wines which need that balance. 

Oaky Chardonnays will pair with different kinds of foods than unoaked Chardonnays, and the unoaked versions are more similar to wines like Sauvignon Blanc. Oaky Chardonnays will do well with rich fish and seafood dishes, especially those with butter like lobster dishes and creamier dishes like creamy pasta dishes. When we were tasting the Chardonnay last week we were definitely thinking along those lines. 

But that’s enough information - unless you have any questions, Carmela. I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/chardonnay-wine-guide/ 
• https://larrythewineguy.net/2012/02/09/do-you-really-want-an-oaky-chardonnay-or-a-buttery-chardonnay/ 
• https://www.laithwaites.com/wine-blog/wine-knowledge/unoaked-chardonnay#:~:text=Oaked%20Chardonnay,toasty%20flavors%20to%20sweet%20notes. 
• https://tastehungary.com/journal/understanding-hungarian-oak/ 
• https://www.virginwines.co.uk/hub/wine-guide/wine-types/types-of-white-wine/#:~:text=Chardonnay,-Style%20and%20structure&text=The%20most%20popular%20type%20of,the%20grapes%20have%20been%20cultivated. 
• https://www.waddingtons.ca/oak-wine-spirits/ 

Oaky Chardonnay Wines We Chose for This Episode 16:45

As usual, all of the wines we have chosen for this episode are under $20, and all of them should be relatively easy to find because I bought them all at Total Wine. I did that on purpose, despite the fact that I generally do not like Total Wine, because I wanted to find wines that I think will be reasonably easy to find. I did try to avoid their Winery Direct wines because I think those are often not very good and can often only be found at Total Wine - I wanted wines you should be able to find in places like your grocery store. And I wanted to find wines that had good ratings, and all of these have 90 or above ratings from reputable reviews, which means most anyone other than James Suckling.

And, let’s face facts. Chardonnay is super, super easy to find. Most wine stores and wine sections in grocery stores have a Chardonnay aisle. So, whether or not you can find these specific wines, you can find oaky Chardonnays, and you can use some of the information we talked about earlier to help you do that. 

The first wine we are going to try is the 2022 Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay and this one is actually a slight blend of 97% Chardonnay, 3% Gewurztraminer. This wine consistently gets good reviews from a variety of reviewers year after year.

The tech sheet, and I love a good tech sheet, says that the wine is 90% barrel fermented in new and second use French and American oak. So, that is an interesting mix of different oaks from different regions, and even with a touch not on oak at all. Of the three, this one is actually the lowest in alcohol, too, at only 13.5% which is high for a white wine, but not for an oaky Chardonnay. 

As the name implies, the wine comes from a single vineyard called Riva Ranch and they have been producing wines from this vineyard since the 1960s. This area it is from is Monterey which is a bit of a cooler climate, and so I expect this to potentially be the least punch-you-in-the-face of the bunch, but we will see how oaky it is. 

The next wine we are going to try is the 2021 Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay - and it has a big shark on the bottle which is quite intimidating. I was almost afraid to touch it. This wine is 86% barrel fermented in 1 & 2 year-old French oak and 14% fermented in stainless steel, so again a mix of oaks and a mix of oaking and not oaking.

There is mention of sur lie aging on this wine, and for a quick reminder, that just means that the wine is left with the old yeast and other gunk after fermentation, which is what are called the lees and is often stirred as well, and that creates a creamier mouthfeel and sometimes yeasty flavors. BTW, the name and image of a shark has to do with the fact that they call this wine their great white, get it?!?

The last wine we are going to try is the 2022 Bogle Family Vineyards California Chardonnay, and this one should be super easy to find and was by far the least expensive of the bunch at under $8. I included this because first, it is cheap and easy to find, because it got a 91 rating from Wine Enthusiast, and we have generally had pretty good luck with Bogle wines, believe it or not. Not always, but a few times I have been pleasantly surprised. And this wine has had good reviews for many years. So, if it is a good wine, at that price it is a steal. 

All three of these wines had tech sheets, which is fun. This wine is aged 50% in new American oak and 50% in stainless steel. So although it is only 50% aged in oak, it is new American oak which can be very oaky, and they age it for 8 months. They also use the sur lie method, and specifically call out battonage which is the stirring of the lees, which they say they do every month. 

The grapes for this wine come from vineyards in Clarksburg, Dunnigan Hills, Monterey, so that is why they call it California in general rather than from a specific area. They also say the wines are certified green and vegan friendly which is nice if you look for those kinds of things. 

But, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us!


ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://wentevineyards.com/product/2022-riva-ranch-chardonnay 
• https://wentevineyards.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Wente-Vineyards-Riva-Ranch-Chardonnay-2022-.pdf 
• https://juggernautwines.com/wine/sonoma-coast-chardonnay/ 
• https://www.wineenthusiast.com/basics/advanced-studies/wine-ages-on-lees-science/ 
• https://boglewinery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/0414_001_Chardonnay_Fact_Sheet_Final.pdf 

2022 Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay, 2021 Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, 2022 Bogle Family Vineyards California Chardonnay Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 26:29

Wine: Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase.)
Region: California, Monterey
Year: 2022
Price: $17.49
Retailer: Total Wine
Alcohol: 13.5%
Grapes: 97% Chardonnay, 3% Gewurztraminer
Professional Rating: 94 Tasting Panel, JS 91, WE 91

What we tasted and smelled in this Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay:

• On the nose: Tropical fruit, pineapple, apple, lemon, orange rind, oak, butterscotch, vanilla, sugary
• In the mouth: pineapple, sweetbread, pineapple donut, tropical fruit, citrus, vanilla, clove, round, flower petals, not overpowering, rubbery tannins, pleasant, balanced

Food to pair with this Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay: Salmon, shrimp scampi, scalloped potatoes, Thanksgiving wine, shellfish, creamy pasta, poultry, pork
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 6/10
• Carmela: 6/10

A good wine for a Chardonnay lover


Wine: Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase.)
Region: California, Sonoma Coast
Year: 2021
Price: $19.99
Retailer: Total Wine
Alcohol: 14.5%
Grapes: Chardonnay
Professional Rating: WE 92, WW 89, W&S 89

What we tasted and smelled in this Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay:

• On the nose: Creamy, flowers, kettlecorn, buttery popcorn, vanilla, citrus, herbs, peaches, stone fruit
• In the mouth: Creamy mouthfeel, tons of pineapple, tea, lemon curd, pineapple curd, pineapple candy, chewy, vanilla, buttered popcorn and butterscotch at the end

Food to pair with this Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay: Nuts, pasta with clams, stinky cheese, creamy brie and fruit, charcuterie, buttery shrimp, shrimp pasta, butter chicken, Indian food, phad thai


Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 7/10
• Carmela: 7/10

Wine: Bogle Family Vineyards California Chardonnay
Region: California
Year: 2022
Price: $7.97
Retailer: Total Wine
Alcohol: 14.5%
Grapes: Chardonnay
Professional Rating: WE 91

What we tasted and smelled in this Bogle Family Vineyards California Chardonnay:

• On the nose: Creamy, pear tart, Bosc fruit, orchard fruit, apple, pear, clove, lemon, vanilla, warm, pear syrup
• In the mouth: Baking spicing, nutmeg, pineapple, orange, clove, mulled wine, Fall wine, cedar, the most oaky of the bunch, tart, sharp, apple cider, pear cider, cinnamon

Food to pair with this Bogle Family Vineyards California Chardonnay: A great tailgate wine, turkey sub, buffalo chicken wings, tuna melt 


Bogle Family Vineyards California Chardonnay Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 6/10
• Carmela: 6/10

Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

• Carmela: Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
• Joe: Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

Taste profiles expected from Oaky Chardonnay  46:27

• General 
  • Wine Folly: Tropical fruit, grilled pineapple, butterscotch and vanilla / the lighter profile of poached pear, lemon curd, baked apple and chalky minerality.
• Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay
  • Winery: It is loaded with perfectly ripened apples, lemon curd, and toasted brioche . . . ripened fruit is complimented by slightly creamy oak that hints at notes of toasted marshmallow, along with a dollop of buttery richness that lasts well into the lengthy finish.
  • Tasting Panel: Lemon drop, sweet cream, fresh corn, and pear tart are some of the stunning flavors that perform on the nose and palate. Pineapple upside-down cake, gardenia, and jasmine are exotic and reflect a marvelous vintage.
  • James Suckling: Grilled pistachio and creamy toast to the ripe, spiced pineapples and lemon curd. Round and full-bodied on the palate with supple, medium-low acidity and a phenolic bite to the broad, waxy finish.
  • WE: Warm aromas of Lemonhead candies, lemon curd, Asian pear and wet rocks invite the nose into this bottling. The palate combines zesty lemon peel flavors with creamier notes of toasted almond, butter and honeysuckle while leading into a salty finish.
• Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
  • Winery: hint of vanilla bean and buttercream from the oak barrels, to the crisp stone fruit varietal characteristics highlighted in the stainless steel, to the round, luxurious mouthfeel resulting from sur lie aging
  • WE: Well-balanced between fresh fruits and light oak spices, this medium-bodied wine is not nearly as aggressive as its label image of a shark suggests. Moderate acidity bolsters fresh golden apple and Bartlett pear flavors, with delicate buttery accents.
  • WW: smooth and delectable palate texture, aromas, and flavors of savory spices, ripe apples, and citrus.
  • W&S: Packed with citrus, from orange to pink grapefruit, this has springtime scents of fruit blossoms and some supple alcohol
• Bogle Family Vineyards California Chardonnay
  • Winery: Green apple and pear aromatics are accompanied by subtle notes of apricot, toasty baking spices and hints of vanilla, s a touch of butter leading into a plush, velvety mouthfeel. Only to finish with a crispness and high fruit tone, delivering a harmonic balance
  • WE: This wine is rich, opulent with aromas of ripe green apple, peach, mulled spice, toasty vanilla cream and orange zest on the nose. Flavors on the palate suggest yellow apple, allspice and white grapefruit, transmuting into orange sherbet, mineral and a long, silky finish.

What do you think of oaky Chardonnay? Did this episode change your mind?

We hope you are happy Dean! And please, this is to everyone, keep your recommendations going.

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 50:30

Ok, so, Carmela, it’s time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast service - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

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Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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