Why Chardonnay Has Become So Cool

25 May 2022 - Justin Sims

Now before you think I’m talking about some hipster chick who can do Hardflips and Backside Tailslides with her eyes shut, sadly not, although I’m sure she’s out there somewhere. No, I’m talking about how Chardonnay, following a period of hard reflection, seems to have grown up from its embarrassing overripe, over-oaked, overloaded adolescence during the 80s and early 90s and followed Odyssey’s advice by getting back to its [cool climate] roots.

By cool climate roots, I’m referencing Burgundy in northern France, especially Chablis which, unless you categorically know it can only be made from Chardonnay, you might be hard-pressed to make the connection.

Defining cool climate in the context of wine

Before we go any further, let’s get into the bones of what cool climate means from a wine perspective. Within the last 20 years, climatologists have agreed that the global growing zone for viticulture (vine growing) should be split into three categories. Cool climate, which represents around a third of the growing zone, intermediate climate and warm climate, which make up the other two thirds.

The growing season broadly runs from April to October in the Northern Hemisphere and October to April in the Southern Hemisphere. During this period, cool climate regions have a mean temperature of less than 16°C. As we live in this zone in the UK, apart from the odd freakishly hot summer, we know that’s pretty cool.

It’s worth bearing in mind that these zones don’t have hard borders as it’s possible to find cooler sub-regions within intermediate or even warm climatic zones due to elevation (mountains, high plateaux) or influences from the sea.

Prime examples of the former are South Africa’s Elgin region, Spain’s Gredos Mountains and the Salta region of Argentina. And for the latter, Australia’s Yarra Valley, the Russian River Valley of Sonoma in California and Chile’s Casablanca Valley.

What defines a cool climate Chardonnay?

Firstly it will have a paler colour so will appear more like lemon juice as opposed to the famous Mexican beer. It will have noticeable acidity too, that is to say that it’ll make your mouth water more than a Haribo Tangfastic. It’ll have lower viscosity in the mouth and the alcohol is likely to be no higher than around 13.0% which, believe it or not, is below average.

In terms of the flavours themselves, think lemon, lime, acacia, white peach, underripe pineapple, baked apple and possibly buttercream and a mealy character if there’s lees stirring (bâtonnage) or used oak involved. You’ll also find ‘sensory flavours’ like a chalkiness or salinity that’s associated with the soils the vines are grown on.

Where are the coolest Chardonnays coming from?

If, like me, you’ve always been a fan of Chardonnay, especially the more restrained styles, there’s never been a better time to indulge in this little vice. Chardonnay is the world’s most popular white wine grape and second most planted white wine variety but don’t think for one minute that most of it is coming out of Burgundy*. Au contraire mon ami, there are Burgundy lookalikes coming not only from the New World, but from other parts of France too like the Jura, Limoux and Champagne regions as well as the UK, Germany, Austria, northern Spain and northern Italy.

Now if we’re talking New World pockets of brilliance, look towards Oregon, Sonoma and Washington State, Argentina’s Uco Valley and Chile’s Limarí and Casablanca valleys in the Americas.

New Zealand has its own little golden zones from Kumeu near Auckland right down to Bannockburn in Central Otago and plenty more in between. Jump across the Tasman Sea and it’s Margaret River, Geelong, Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Piccadilly near Adelaide and High Eden as well as Tasmania that are proving Australia’s cool climate credentials.

And finally Elgin, Hemel-en-Aarde and Constantia are flying the flag for South Africa with some stunning wines that wouldn’t look out of place in the Côte d’Or.

* By Burgundy, I mean Chablis, Bourgogne (French for Burgundy), Mâcon, Pouilly-Fuissé, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet (hopefully these names are ringing a bell), as well as a whole bunch of other village names throughout this iconic region.

Wider benefits of cooler climate Chardonnay

One thing you’ll get to know about me is that I’m as passionate about food as I am my vino and, like more and more wine drinkers, I get more pleasure out of putting the two together.

Now I’m definitely no Marcus Wareing in the kitchen but I do enjoy cooking and whilst I’m not into conjuring up fussy food, I like it to be flavoursome and honest. The golden rule when pairing wine with food is not to let the dish overpower the wine.

If we’re talking about cool climate versus warm climate Chardonnay, for me there are many more pairing options available with the former because you have acidity as well as structure and flavour to play with.

Acidity is the key because it brings things like oily or meaty fish, tender scallops, sweet lobster and succulent poultry into play as well as buttery and creamy dishes, as it can cut through the different textural elements like a hot knife through butter.

Try pairing these delicate flavours with a low acid, warm climate Chardonnay and the wine will just cloak the food and it’ll all feel a bit blousy and disjointed. That’s not to say that warm climate Chardonnays aren’t good at food pairing. They just need sweeter, stronger-flavoured ingredients to even things up a bit. Bigger versions of cooler climate Chardonnays can tackle more complex flavoured dishes, especially if the subtle oak influence is prevalent.

One word of caution here. Do try to avoid highly acidic foods like raw tomatoes, olives, capers and vinaigrettes and also dodge chilli heat and heavy spice as well as bitter greens as these will make the wine taste watery, bitter or sour.

Enough about food, the other major benefit is that you can sip the wine without food and enjoy more than one glass before your palate feels satisfied. This is particularly relevant if you’re flush and unable to resist the dangerous itch to splash out on a bottle of Burgundy’s finest!

So there we have it, a quick tour around the cool world of Chardonnay and why you definitely ought to get to know it a bit better. And by see you're just in time to raise a glass or three to National Chardonnay Day this 26th May…cheers!