They say the very best Chardonnays in the world are to be discovered in Burgundy– however not on this list.
© Sonoma Tourist|The foggy hills of Sonoma Coast are slowly reaching Burgundy.
The received wisdom is that the best Chardonnays on earth are to be discovered among the rolling hills of Burgundy, therefore any list of the world’s finest would be festooned with the names of famous Burgundian producers. This isn’t that list.
The easy reason for that is since of Burgundy’s nearly oppressively dominant influence — red wine critics can’t praise those red wines highly enough– it can be tough for other regions to get a look in.
So, we chose to split the Chardonnay load this year, with a list of Burgundy Chardonnays (which will be released later today) and a list of the others; the ones misfortunate enough to not be born into the metaphoric wealth and benefit that a Côte d’Or address provides.
This year, we believed would commemorate those “other” producers; the ones dotted all over the world producing remarkably good white wines that are destined permanently stay in the shadow of Burgundy. Nevertheless, it didn’t really turn out like that.
This was surprising. Chardonnay is, after all, among the most widespread grape varieties on earth; any place there is a red wine industry, there is Chardonnay, from the chilly northern depths of Sweden to the, er, cold southern depths of Central Otago. So, you ‘d anticipate that there would be quality Chardonnay from a wider variety of regions once Burgundy has been removed from the formula.
There are exceptional Chardonnays to be had from practically every area (and Sweden will get there eventually, as long as we keep burning nonrenewable fuel sources in vast quantities), as anyone who has ever taken a trip can attest, but it seems the critics don’t agree. Once Burgundy is marked down (now there’s a fanciful notion), it appears there is just one place that matters.
Our scores here at Wine-Searcher are an aggregate of the lots of ratings from the critics we note, and as we have more critics noted than ever, our ratings become a lot more representative of the direction of crucial thought connecting to wine. So, it appears there is a definite pattern.
The World’s Finest Chardonnays on Wine-Searcher:
| White wine Call | Score Ave Cost | Kongsgaard The Judge, Napa 96$956 Peter Michael Point Rouge, Sonoma County 96$510 Aubert Wines Lauren Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
| 96 |
$259 Aubert Red Wines CIX, Sonoma Coast 96 $213 Morlet Household |
Vineyards | Coup de Coeur, Sonoma County 96 $183 Aubert Red Wines Eastside Vineyard
| , Russian
| River Valley 95$222 Aubert White Wines UV-SL Vineyards, Sonoma Coast 95 |
$187 Kistler Cuvée Cathleen, Sonoma Valley 95$206 Peter Michael Cuvée Indigene, Sonoma County 95$258 |
Marcassin Estate, Sonoma Coast |
95 |
$704 |
As |
you can see, with the exception of the leading white wine, all roadways lead |
to |
Sonoma. This is quite astonishing truly. Not that the region
| has actually ended up being a kind of one-stop-shop for all your Chardonnay requires– the broad Sonoma
| County area has actually been a Chardonnay |
expert for years– but that critics appear to have now split |
the Chardonnay world into 3 parts: Burgundy
| , |
Sonoma and the rest. The critics truly do like Sonoma Chardonnay, and in increasing numbers. In 2018, Marcassin was | the sole
| US representative on the list of the world’s finest Chardonnays. It still keeps its excellent score from that list, however today
| there are
| 9 wines ahead of it. That suggests |
nine red wines have actually attained such high scores | |
|---|
in the previous four years that they have somehow handled to elbow an impressively constant
, quality red wine somewhat to one side. It truly does highlight the quality that is coming out of the Sonoma appellations(and, it needs to be said, the quality of Kongsgaard’s leading wine), that they might improve so quickly in a relatively short space of time. The Konsgaard and the Aubert Lauren Vineyards white wines have managed to bump their individual ratings up by
a point apiece in the space of a single year, which is outstanding, even enabling the increase in the variety of critics we note. And with Sonoma (and Napa)making such sterling red wines, it undoubtedly can’t be long prior to they catch up to Burgundy. And after that, maybe, the Chardonnay world can return to being a video game of two halves, rather than 3. To sign up with the conversation, discuss our social networks channels.