Chardonnay Flashcards
What is a typical cool-climate Chardonnay like?
- acidity: high
- body: medium to light
- primary aromas: green (apple, pear), citrus (lemon, lime), wet stones.
What is a typical moderate-climate Chardonnay like?
- acidity: medium-high
- body: medium to full
- primary aromas: lemon, stone fruits (peach), and sometimes tropical fruit (melon).
What is a typical warm-climate Chardonnay like?
- acidity: medium.
- body: medium to full.
- primary aromas: stone fruit (peach) and tropical fruit (pineapple, banana).
What winemaking process is commonly used in warm-climate Chardonnays to balance their alcohol and full body.
Acidification.
What winemaking processes are often used on Chardonnays (and what do they add to the wine)?
- Malolactic Conversion (butter, cream)
- Lees contactin maturation (biscuit, bread, body)
- Oak barrel fermentation or Oak Chips (smoke, vanilla, coconut)
- Inert vessel fermentation (adds no secondary flavors)
What are wines with no oak treatment called?
“Unoaked” or “Unwooded”.
Does Chardonnay have aging potential?
Generally yes. Very good or Outstanding Chardonnays can age in-bottle for years or decades.
What tertiary flavors can Chardonnay develop in-bottle when aged for years/decades?
Hazelnut, mushroom.
What are important countries for Chardonnay?
- France
- USA (California, Oregon)
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Chile
- South Africa
In which French region is Chardonnay the main grape variety?
Burgundy.
What are some important appellations/regions for Chardonnay in Burgundy?
- Bourgogne AOC.
- Chablis AOC.
- Cote d’Or.
- Maconnais.
~ South of France.
Where do grapes need to be from in the appellation Bourgogne AOC?
They can be from anywhere in Burgundy.
What are wines from Bourgogne AOC like?
- usually simple.
- apple and lemon aromas.
- high acidity.
How does the climate in Chablis affect the Chardonnay there?
Chablis has a COOL climate. This produces DRY wines with HIGH ACIDITY.
What primary aromas can you expect in a Chablis AOC wine?
- apple.
- lemon.
- wet stones.
What cru classifications are the best vineyards in Chardonnay?
‘Premier Cru’ or ‘Grand Cru’.
Where are ‘Premier Cru’ and ‘Grand Cru’ vineyards in Chablis AOC typically found?
South or South-East facing hillsides.
(The extra sunlight gained from this increases grape ripeness, producing more complex and flavorful wines.)
Are Chablis AOC wines typically oaked?
No.
(Winemakers prefer to preserve the fresh fruitiness of these wines, fermenting them in inert vessels instead.)
What is the climate of Cote d’Or, and how does this affect the flavors of Chardonnay grown there?
Climate: Moderate.
Flavors: ripe-fruit (peach, melon).
Which area in Cote d’Or is the biggest producer of Chardonnay?
Cote de Beaune.
(Found south of Beaune.)
Which villages in Cote de Beaune are famous for producing ‘Very Good’ to ‘Outstanding’ quality Chardonnays?
Meursault AOC and Puligny-Montrachet AOC.
What winemaking processes do Meursault AOC and Puligny-Montrachet AOC use to make their wines complex and full body?
- Fermentation and/or Maturation in OAK barrels.
- aged while kept in contact with the LEES.
Why are Chardonnay wines from Premier and Grand Cru, in villages Meursault AOC and Puligny-Montrachet AOC, so expensive?
- They can develop tertiary flavors (mushroom and hazelnut) in the bottle decades after.
- Many consider these wines the best Chardonnay in the world.
