WTN/Wine Advisor: Does Chardonnay need oak?

[Robin Garr]

Does Chardonnay need oak?

Oak in Chardonnay is like mustard on a hamburger: In proportion, it's a delight; overdone, it's a disaster. If the hamburger is good enough to enjoy on its own without a condiment, that's fine, but it takes a very good burger to carry this off.

As it is with hamburgers, so it is with wine. Well, except maybe for the mustard.

I haven't always felt this forgiving about oak, particularly in white wines. During the 1990s in particular, way too many producers went crazy for oak, much as many producers today go crazy for abusively high levels of alcohol. Indeed, some similar reasoning may well have been in play: Like high-alcohol wines today, oaky wines played well to some segments of the market, and frankly, to some of the critics.

But as I wrote after a broad tasting of recent California reds a few years ago, "times and customs change, and it seems to me that - with a few notable exceptions - a certain order has returned to the wine universe as the pendulum swings back toward the center."

By and large - with some horrifying exceptions, of course - even many of the California and Australia Chardonnays that used to be among the worst oak-offenders have regained their balance.

As I've pointed out in the past, while the excessive use of oak may widely be considered a New World sin, oak in moderation has been a constant presence in the most traditional Old World wines. From Bordeaux to White Burgundy, many of Europe's greatest wine treasures wouldn't be the same without a discreet kiss of oak. Indeed, from Italy's Riservas to the oak-nurtured Crianzas of Rioja, many European classics require oak, by custom and by law.

In short, the problem with oak has never been its use but its abuse. As the Boston-area wine retailer Richard Eccleston memorably observed many years ago, "Oak should be a spice, not a sauce."

Still, there's a ready market - and not just among oak-phobes - for an all-fruit Chardonnay made in stainless steel without a hint of wood. I've been lukewarm to some examples from Down Under, but was most impressed with an unoaked Chard (named "Inox" after the brand name of its steel fermenters) from Santa Barbara's Melville Vineyards.

Today's tasting report also comes from Santa Barbara, from one of my favorite producers of the region, Daniel Gehrs. It's an impressive unoaked Chardonnay, richly textured and loaded with luscious tropical fruit without a molecule of oak.

Daniel Gehrs 2005 "Unoaked" Santa Barbara County Chardonnay

Transparent straw color. A luscious, subtle mix of tropical fruits - fresh figs and dates and a hint of pineapple on the nose; crisp white fruit on the palate, well shaped by an appropriate amount of acidity to provide structure and balance. I normally like a subtle touch of oak to add texture to Chardonnay, but this fresh fruit is really too good to need any tinkering. (Feb. 12, 2008)

FOOD MATCH: Clean, fresh fruit and good acidic structure make it a natural with veal ossobuco in bianco.

VALUE: The winery's announced $19 price is high, as street prices typically range from $10 to $15, at which point it is a very good value. It's an absolute no-brainer at California Wine Club's current $8.75 sale price.

WHEN TO DRINK: Fresh and delicious, it would be awfully hard to keep hands off right now. Its aging profile is hard to predict; it's not a traditional "cellar keeper" but should at least hold up for a couple of years under good storage conditions.

WEB LINK:
Here's a link to the Daniel Gehrs Website:
http://www.dgwines.com

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
For California Wine Club's current sale, offering this wine at $8.75, click:
http://www.cawineclub.com/Dan-Gehrs-Win ... PD259.html

The winery also offers online sales, but pricing is high.
http://www.dgwines.com/store/shopwine.cfm

Compare prices and locate vendors for Daniel Gehrs Unoaked Santa Barbara County Chardonnay on Wine-Searcher.com:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Gehrs ... g_site=WLP

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[Ray Juskiewicz]

Robin, Chehalem also produces an unoaked Chard in Oregon that is called INOX. I've really enjoyed it over the years. Last fall Food & Wine called it the best Chard under $20. Chehalem claims that INOX is french for stainless steel.

[Oswaldo Costa]

I prefer the center pendulum position, but it's perhaps worth remembering that, throughout the oak wars, there was always (most of) Chablis representing the unoaked chardonnay position as immensely viable.

[Robin Garr]

Chehalem claims that INOX is french for stainless steel.

Thanks for the tip on Chehalem, Ray. I believe INOX is a French brand name for a particular stainless steel wine tank, but I could certainly be proven wrong on that. I'll check it out ... meanwhile, any of our French speakers know for sure?

[Oswaldo Costa]

INOX is an abbreviation for inoxidable, as in unoxidiseable (if such a word existed in English).

[Dale Williams]

I thought inox is just Italian for stainless (steel)? Probably derived from use Oswaldo cited.

True about most Chablis, though historically I think more a case of neutral barrels than stainless. But most Chablis producers used some new oak on their GCs, I think (Louis Michel the most notable exception recently).

[Craig Pinhey]

Hi - I'm a new poster (was on a long time ago , but not for long)

We have an INOX Chard in Canada too, at Peninsula Ridge in Ontario. Nice wine.

I don't think Chardonnay NEEDS oak, but I find many of the unoaked Chards are pop wines for new young drinkers, too sweet, no structure, and I don't like them.

I judge at the National Canadian competitions, and I did unoaked Chards this year - I think maybe 3 or 4 out of 25 or so were wines that I really liked, with some balance and elegance.

Anyway, i love Chardonnay with good acid, balanced with a judicious amount of oak.

Craig

[Bob Parsons Alberta.]

Welcome Craig, many Canadians here these days! So any heads up on Ont chards??

[Craig Pinhey]

You mean medal winners?

i think they are all listed in the Canadian Wine Awards (Wine Access) and All Canadian Wine Championships results.

Of course some wineries don't enter...

i think Flat Rock Cellars is making fabulous wines, period.

Pinot Noir is their specialty and they are great, and their Chards and Rieslings are excellent, too.

All screwcap -- even their icewine!

I love Ontario Chardonnay because it has an acid backbone. They are my fave NW Chards, I think.

There are also some over the top showy ones like those from Tawse and Le Close Jordanne, which remind me of super high end Cali Chards.

[Paul Winalski]

Richard Eccleston, at times a wine merchant, always a Bourgogne expert, said, regarding oak in wine, especially chardonnay:

"Oak should be a seasoning, not a sauce."

I think that says it all.

-Paul W.

[Bill Hooper]

The question is too broad. I think that Chardonnay from the Cotes de Beaune, Chalonnaise, and the Maconnais benefit a little from oak barrels of all ages. An experienced vintner along with an experienced cooper often come up with wonderful results from using barrels of varying age and seasoning. Though, not many Chardonnays I've tasted were great because of the use of 100% new oak. Chablis can even be a little hollow when vinified completely in stainless steel and I rather dislike any chardonnay made in this manner. Even my favorite Riesling and Grüner Veltliner is made in old oak Fuder (although I detest any new oak with these wines.). On the flip-side of the oak debate, it is reductive winemaking that can be too sterile and uninteresting at times. But, NO wine should be made with oak-chips or sawdust -at least not commercially.

[Tim York]

Up to now, I have been unconvinced by any completely unwooded Chardonnay, which has passed my way, with one exception. That exception was Chablis purchased in the 90s from the Boudin family at Domaine de Chantemerle. I think that most Chardonnay, even from terroirs as characterful as those in Chablis, the Côte d'Or, the Jura and some in the Chalonnais and Mâconnais, benefits from maturing in oak barrels but not necessarily new oak. Less characterful Chardonnay may need an element of discreet new oak seasoning to give complexity.

With regard to use of new oak even as a seasoning, in my observation this is a relatively recent phenomenon. When my early days of drinking wine in the late 50s and 60s, oak flavours were a rarity. (Rioja was an exception and there the barrels were of American oak but, I think, most were not new.) Typically new oak exposure would, at most, come from approximately one in six barrels resulting from a normal rate of renewal of the barrel stock. And, even then, many vignerons took steps to avoid exposure of their best wines to new wood flavours.

My guess is that that the rich, burnished but not buttery Bâtard-Montrachet, which I sometimes could afford in those days, was 100% barrel aged, but with no more than one in six of those barrels imparting an incidental seasoning.

[Howie Hart]

From my point of view, as a home wine maker, I've been making Chardonnay for several years, obtaining fresh pressed juice locally. Does Chardonnay need oak? No, but it has it's place. I usually make 2 batches, one oaked and one unoaked. They pair up differently with different foods, so each has its place.

[tomazk]

I prefer chardonnay fermented in steel, but it has to to be from a region where you can pick ripe chard grapes and produce wine with max 13 degrees alcohol.

But the best chardonnay i had so far was fermented and matured in oak barriques and big oak barrels (2000l) but the wine had no taste of oak because the barrels were already used for more than 5 years. The oak taste is by my opinion a unnecessary make-up.

[Sue Courtney]

Chardonnay doesn't need oak, although some of my wine drinking friends would vehemently disagree.
What chardonnay without oak needs is ripe, clean fruit to start with some time on yeast lees with stirring to add complexity and structure and perhaps malolactic (but not always) to add creaminess. It needs to taste fresh and fruity with a savoury undercurrent with perhaps some spiciness from the yeast lees. Most of all, the finished product needs to be in balance - not too acidic, not too sweet, with a richness to the texture from the fruit and the alcohol.


There are some amazing unoaked Chablis, but also some very poor ones. I'm also find some from New Zealand are hitting the spot this summer. For example, Spy Valley Unoaked Chardonnay 2007 from Marlborough was just juicy, fresh and delicious on a hot summer's day last month.

[GeoCWeyer]

Stony Hill, one of the oldest producers of quality Chardonnay doesn't think so. Their Chards have no malolactic and only neutral barrels are used. It is our house Chardonnay.

Did Martin need Lewis?

[Victorwine]

Howie wrote:
From my point of view, as a home wine maker, I've been making Chardonnay for several years, obtaining fresh pressed juice locally. Does Chardonnay need oak? No, but it has its place. I usually make 2 batches, one oaked and one unoaked. They pair up differently with different foods, so each has its place.

I totally agree with Howie. BTW Howie, have you ever tried making a “3rd batch” and blend an oaked with unoaked. Isn’t amateur wine making GREAT!!!!!!!!!

Salute

[Howie Hart]

Howie wrote:
...BTW Howie, have you ever tried making a “3rd batch” and blend an oaked with unoaked. Isn’t amateur wine making GREAT!!!!!!!!!
Salute

Not that way. I've done the "3rd Batch" as bubbly.

[Craig Pinhey]

I'm not an oak addict, by any means, but the best chardonnays I have had in my life have all been oaked to some extent...

it's a grape that responds well to oak (and lees aging as others have mentioned)

=8)

[David M. Bueker]

Of course it needs oak - old oak & bubbles too. That's how you get Krug! (at least part of it)