Braver New World
by Matt Walls
“Sorry I’m late sir. Ignore the bandage, I had an unexpected visit to the hospital to get my ear seen to. Anyway – I understand you’d like me to paint...
White Varietal: Chardonnay
NV Krug, Grande Cuvée, Champagne
( £80-£100, 12%, Widely available )A blend of 20 wines from ten different vintages, some of which are 15 years old, Krug’s non-vintage blend is one of a kind. It’s rich, complex and palate coating, with small bubbles, savoury, umami notes, hints of hazelnut and honey and a dry, refeshing palate. The kind of Champagne that works extremely well with food rather than as an aperitif.
NV Hambledon, Classic Cuvée, Hampshire
( £28.50, 12% )Sourced from England’s oldest commercial vineyard (we are talking 1952), this blend of the Champagne grapes, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, is delicious, a fizz that manages to taste English while showing the complexity and nuances of a top Champagne. It’s chalky and dry, with subtle bubbles, hints of fresh pastry and citrus and a tapering finish: elegant, refined and understated.
2009 Ca'del Bosco Collection Brut, Franciacorta, Lombardy
( £26.60-£31, 12.5%, Olivino, The Oxford Wine Company, Winedirect )At its best, Franciacorta can rank among the best sparkling wines in the world. This is rich, bready and nicely developed with toasty complexity, fine bubbles and a dry, savoury finish. Tangy, chalky and long on the palate.
NV Chandon, Brut, Mendoza
( £14.99, 13%, Majestic )Moët’s sparkling wines in South America have mostly been a disappointment, but this blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is a huge improvement on what has gone before. It’s a rich, toasty style with some sweetness from dosage, flavours of hazelnut and brioche and a baking spicy, well balanced finish.
NV Chandon, Rosé
( £15.99, 12.5%, Majestic )An unusual but (for Argentina) rather appropriate blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Malbec, this bronze-tinged rosé is savoury and flavoursome with notes of summer fruits, toast and leesy richness. A very drinkable bottle of bubbles at the price.
NV LS Cherlin, Brut, Champagne
( £18, 12.5%, 31 Dover )A broad, fruity, easy drinking fizz that’s great value at under £20, this combines malty, strawberry fruit flavours with a frothy mousse and chalky minerality. It looks the part, too.
2012 Cullerot, Celler del Roure, Valencia
( £12.99, 13%, Davis Bell McCraith, Tivoli Wines )A highly unusual (possibly unique?) blend of Macabeo, Verdil, Pedro Ximénez and Chardonnay from Valencia of all places, this stylishly packaged, leesy white was made with very little suplhur, but it’s cleaner and fresher than many “natural” wines. Ageing takes place in clay amphorae, rather than oak and the result is all about fruit: apple, pear and a hint of stone fruit with subtle spices.
2013 Richard Kershaw Wines Chardonnay, Elgin
( N/A, 13.5%, Contact the winery for details )Englishman Richard Kershaw has followed up his 2012 release with a wine that’s every bit as good. This is a smoky, minerally, Â citrus-tinged, stylishly constructed Chardonnay that whispers of its cool climate origins in Elgin. Discreet and subtle, it’s a wine with texture, harmony and palate length. One of the Cape’s best examples of the grape.
2011 McGuigan, No 3659, The Shortlist Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
( £15, 13%, Tesco Wine Online )One of a series of impressive wines under The Shortlist label, this French oak-fermented cool climate Chardonnay has benefited from a little bottle age and is now showing some developed flavours and aromas. Pear, cinnamon spice and a touch of honey combine well on the palate here.
2013 Neudorf, Chardonnay, Nelson
( £14-£15, 14% )A lightly oaked Chardonnay that still shows all the Neudorf hallmarks: weight, power, spice and complexity, with sweet stone and tropical fruit underpinned by acidity. The oak, as ever, is deftly handled here, showing notes of cinnamon and nutmeg spice.
2013 Neudorf, Twenty Five Rows Chardonnay, Nelson
( N/A, 14% )Produced in small quantities from Tim and Judy Finn’s vineyards in Nelson, this lees-aged Chardonnay sees very little oak and is made in a “Chablis” style. It’s a subtle, herbal white with notes of baking spices and citrus and appealing texture and concentration.