15 great Chardonnay wines to try

One of South Africa's best Chardonnays, from vineyards at the top of the Hemel-en-Aarde ridge, known as the Skyfields. With 100% barrel fermentation and nine months' ageing in French oak barriques, it has great weight, texture and smoky, toasty complexity to join flavours of nectarine, lime and a savoury, flinty edge. A beautiful terroir-driven wine of purity and elegance that will reward careful cellaring.

The rarely seen custom of blending Pinot Blanc (15%) with Chardonnay in Burgundy has worked wonders here. Sourced from the upper slopes in Marsannay, this wine has a round, waxy and pithy apricot character with driving mineral acidity, licks of lime and honey, and great length. A beautiful wine that, not unlike a white Hermitage, is crying out for food.

Classic nose with some wood spice and ripe stone fruit. Cinnamon spice, smoky vanilla oak with pineapple, peach and some intriguing zesty, baked apricot flavours.

Acero' is the Spanish word for 'steel' and indicates that this Chardonnay, from winemaker Marimar Torres, is unoaked. A fresh style with harmonious orchard fruit and yellow citrus aromas. The palate is well balanced, with lively acidity that cuts through sweet lemon fruit, savoury tones and some creaminess that persists through to a rich but clean finish, with a touch of grapefruit pith and dry spice.

From iron-rich vineyards cooled by sea breezes comes this delicious Chardonnay, packed with creamy apple, white peach and zesty citrus aromas and flavours. The palate is weighty, yet a seam of focused acidity and flinty minerality keeps things fresh, and the oak (eight months in French barrels, 30% new) is well judged. The heavy bottle seems unnecessary for such an elegant wine, but this is well worth seeking out.

Thomas Bachelder makes exciting Chardonnays (and Pinot Noirs) not just in this cool-climate region, but also Oregon and Burgundy. Fruit for this entry-level wine is from several sites – including the acclaimed Wismer Vineyard on Twenty Mile Bench – and undergoes malolactic fermentation and 18 months' oak ageing. It has flinty-mineral complexity on the supple palate, alongside ripe nectarine, bright lemon acidity and a nutty wild-yeast tang.

Now run by Bernhard's son Julian, this estate is known for pursuing Burgundian finesse in its wines. This Alte Reben ('old vine') Chardonnay is sourced from the estate's Grosses Gewachs vineyards, and immediately impacts with its struck match and crispy bacon notes of reduction. The palate is intense and focused, initially showing more bacon and struck match notes before displaying some sweet stone fruit and citrus acidity. There's plenty of creaminess on the mid-palate from the lees and wood, although it doesn't overpower, and the finish is long and fresh.

This is an elegant and expressive Chardonnay, offering vibrant lemon and wet stone aromas. On the palate, it’s smooth with wonderful gunflint and steely flavours alongside soft tropical elements, including fresh pineapple and lingering lemon zest. Intense, powerful and an absolute bargain!

Soft and delicate, this unoaked Chardonnay has a lovely honeyed character with a juicy minerality and delicate chalky finish. Petit Chablis is a lighter style than Chablis, and gives freshness and fruitiness from the calcareous soils found in the appellation. An easy-drinking aperitif wine or ideal match with seafood.

Expect the same flavours of spice, honeysuckle and softly nutty tones that you'd find in a generic Mâconnais, but with more complexity. Mâcon had a large harvest in 2018, but the best wines show a lovely balance, which is apparent here. Great quality-price ratio.

The Melville family farms 49ha organically in heart of this cool-climate AVA, adopting a minimalist approach in the cellar. This entry-level Chardonnay is broad and expansive, with forward aromas of green fig, celery and grapefruit, and a fresh yet creamy palate of lemon curd, toasted almonds, warm hay and sweet oak spice.

A cool-climate Chardonnay of considerable class. Vines planted on chalky soils, just 29km from the Pacific Ocean in Chile's Limarí Valley, benefit from cooling sea breezes. Fermentation is part in stainless steel and part in oak, while 50% of the wine is aged in used French barrels for 10 months. The result is an restrained, elegant style underpinned by linear acidity, with clean citrus notes, a touch of creamy hazelnut and fresh, fruity aromatics.

Now part of the Boisset Collection of wineries around the world, Buena Vista was founded in 1857 by the colourful Count Agoston Haraszthy, who emigrated to California from Hungary in 1840. From contract grower vineyards in Mendocino, Sonoma and Lake Counties, this is a easy and approachable Chardonnay with gentle acidity but juicy tropical fruit flavours, plus apple crumble and mellow vanilla notes with a hint of smoke.

An oaked Chardonnay with buttery tropical pineapple and banana aromas. Generous, creamy palate with notes of russet apple, yellow citrus and sweet cedar, balanced by cleansing acidity that cuts through the lingering finish.

A rich and complex – not to mention more affordable – alternative to white Burgundy. Its waxy mouthfeel is lifted by flavours of brioche, crisp apple and pear notes alongside vanilla edges from the use of French oak. Plenty of body and understated power.