Naked Chardonnay

Sat, Jul 18, 2009

Kim Crawford 2008 Unoaked Chardonnay

Chardonnay, you may have heard, has become hip to hate, but don’t jump on that bandwagon until you’ve tried the new laser-bright, crisp, un-oaked chardonnays now hitting the market.

By Daniel Duane

To explain: For decades, vintners have heightened the toasty vanilla-bean smoothness of America’s favorite white wine by aging chardonnay in new oak barrels. They’ve also muted its bite through a process called malolactic fermentation, eliminating much of the wine’s natural acidity.

That’s all fine in principle, but balance is not a California forte. Pretty soon the state’s gonzo winemakers—along with imitators in Chile an Australia—were using so much oak and “malo” that they’d turned chardonnay into a massively rich butterscotch candy of a wine that was almost impossible to pair with food. No wonder some wine snobs adopted the “ABC rule”: Anything But Chardonnay.

So now for the good news: The wine-market correction has finally come, with the new category of oak-free “naked” chardonnays showcasing the grape’s more natural qualities. It’s so distinctive a wine-making choice—such a break with the industry norm—that almost nobody does it without telling you right on the label. But unlike a lot of what you read on wine bottles, it’s no mere hustle: If you’re hoping to make a brace of oysters sing or wash down a garlic-lemon roast chicken, check out one of these offerings.