USA Chardonnay: Panel tasting results

Ronan Sayburn MS, Eugenio Egorov and Ben Gubbins tasted 105 wines, with 9 Outstanding and 32 Highly recommended.

USA Chardonnay: Panel tasting scores

105 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 9

Highly recommended 32

Recommended 50

Commended 8

Fair 6

Poor 0

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their latest-release, still, dry white wines made from 100% Chardonnay, from any region in the US.

Chardonnay: The chicken of the wine world. A blank canvas upon which winemakers can draw their own style. And just like artists, some draw well, and some draw badly. As a winemaker, there are many tools that can be used to give flavour to Chardonnay. Inherently it is a neutral-tasting grape variety that’s high in acidity. So the flavours can be manipulated in the winery.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the USA Chardonnay panel tasting

The wine can be left in contact with oak (French, American or even staves or oak chips inside a large vat) for short or long periods. Winemakers can decide to leave it on its gross lees (the yeast sediment and matter left over after fermentation) and regularly stir these into the wine – known in Burgundy as batonnage – to give the wine weight and texture. And then, they can do a certain amount of malolactic fermentation to reduce the tart malic acidity into a broader and creamier lactic acid, which will flesh out the wines even further.

So this can bring myriad different flavour combinations to the wines, from the taut, lean, saline oyster shell styles found in Chablis, to elegant, richer styles that combine some tropical and orchard fruit with an underlying fine minerality and just a whiff of expensive oak vanilla and toast. As Eugenio Egorov pointed out: ‘Winemakers are now focusing on highlighting the purity of each region and how Chardonnay can develop its own beautiful identity in its local environment. Across the board I found fresh and delicate gems.’

Sometimes, though, winemakers can balance richness, acidity, alcohol and oak wrongly. Oak chips can add a ‘cornflake’, tinned sweetcorn, cloying finish to the wines. Sweet fruit without acid and high alcohol can just be unpleasant to drink. ‘How would you like your popcorn, sir? We can do it salty, sweet or with extra butter…’

For this panel tasting, we covered a vast area, across the USA, and therefore we saw a lot of different styles and skills. The results reflect this (see below), and were a very acceptable outcome, considering the scale of the area represented. ‘I came away with a renewed appreciation for the diversity of Chardonnay in the United States,’ said Egorov.

See all wines from the US Chardonnay panel tasting

With so much winemaker technique going on in a wide selection of wines, sometimes a region’s terroir was overpowered – but, unsurprisingly, the cooler sites fared better. So, Oregon’s Willamette Valley and coastal areas of California – where cool Pacific air and water are brought by the Humboldt current resulting in the famous morning fog. Sonoma Coast showed less strongly than expected, and Napa Valley was a mixed bag. Santa Barbara, and especially the Sta Rita Hills, showed very well. No doubt a reflection of the AVA’s east-to-west valley’s direct opening to the Pacific, but also, one can assume, a collective style of winemaking there, giving these wines a specific regional identity. And, for Egorov, ‘Finger Lakes in New York state surprised me, with its concentration and extraction’.

It’s difficult nowadays to compare Burgundy, California Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays as the quality is now so high that lines are blurred. The old image of great-big butter and oak monsters from the US is disappearing as consumers’ tastes change, though there are still some out there. But who doesn’t love a bowl of vanilla ice cream, just occasionally?

USA Chardonnay panel tasting scores

The judges

Ronan Sayburn MS is CEO of the Court of Master Sommeliers European chapter and runs his own consultancy and wine training company, RS Wine Academy. A previous winner of the UK Sommelier of the Year competition, he is also one of four DWWA Co-Chairs.

Eugenio Egorov is head sommelier at AA five-star The Stafford in London. Born in Ukraine, he began his hospitality career in restaurants in Italy and Florida, USA, before moving to London in 2014, where he rose through the ranks as a sommelier at the likes of 45 Park Lane and The Dorchester.

Ben Gubbins is general manager and WSET wine educator at Vagabond Wines in London. A native of Chile, he previously worked as UK & Europe sales director for Dos Andes Wines before joining Vagabond in 2013.

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