CHARDONNAY

Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular grapes, making incredibly diverse styles of wines, from rich and buttery to lean and mineral. It is one of the key grapes for Champagne as well for English sparkling wine.

Overview

Native to Burgundy, Chardonnay is one of the most popular and the most loved grapes in the world. It thrives in both cooler and warmer climates and is capable of making beautifully complex, elegant and age-worthy wine, hence Chardonnay is considered among the world’s ‘noble’ grape varieties. Chardonnay, along with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, is one of the three main grapes used to produce Champagne. In England it is the most widely planted variety, accounting for almost a third of vines grown here. Chardonnay is the key grape for English sparkling wines, as well as for some of the best still wines in the country.

Aromas And Styles

From sparkling to still, from rich and buttery to lean and mineral, from oaked to fruit-forward, the styles of Chardonnay wines can be incredibly diverse. The grape itself has rather delicate aromas and the final bouquet is very much determined by the terroir and the winemaking method. Aromas and flavours of Chardonnay wine range from green apple and pear when the grapes come from cooler sites, to peach, melon, bananas and mangos in warmer regions. As for the English sparkling wines, Chardonnay is often responsible for a rich creamy mouthfeel, as well as for lovely notes of ripe apples, apricots and citruses. There is also an increasing number of still Chardonnay wines produced in England.