by Fredric Koeppel
The Commercial Appeal How many chardonnays can we taste in one column?
You'll be amazed.
And it's world-beat day, with chardonnays from all over the place, so strap on the Seven-League Boots and a gargantuan thirst and let's go.
California
Here's a roster of big-hearted, two-fisted chardonnays, several of which are too big for their wooden britches.
Spiced apple, pineapple and grapefruit flavors distinguish the suave Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 1998, Napa Valley, whose crispness, vibrancy and scintillating stony element make for terrific presence and complexity. Excellent. About $20.
The '97 version of this wine was elegant, polished and minerally but the 14.3 percent alcohol Cuvaison Chardonnay 1998, Napa-Carneros, is big, bold and creamy and dominated by spicy oak that lays a track across your tongue. Apple-pear-lemon flavors barely make it through. Not my style. About $20.
Bright and brassy, the Gallo of Sonoma Laguna Ranch Chardonnay 1997, Russian River Valley, pushes burnt match, baking spice and tobacco leaf elements but sends in the stones and acid to keep things from getting strident. Excellent. About $22.
Honeysuckle and vanilla, orange zest and lemon-lime teem in a glass of the Murphy-Goode Island Block Reserve Chardonnay 1998, Alexander Valley; so ripe that it's almost honeyed; it's bone-dry, too, flinty and elegant, with hints of potpourri and pear tart. Exceptional (and so much better balanced and integrated than the '97). About $24.
Pear tart also shows up in the Beaulieu Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay 1998, Carneros, but this wine is so ripe, so creamy and buttery, so rich and luscious and spicy that it loses its way in viscosity. Not my style. About $25.
Muscular oak powers the overwhelmingly rich Morgan Reserve Chardonnay 1998, Monterey, a 14.2 percent alcohol chard that subsumes its pear-apple-citrus flavors, its smoky nutty elements, its slate and limestone for ponderous wood. Not my style. (Is it anyone's?) About $30.
The golden-blond Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay Reserve 1997, Napa and Sonoma counties, throbs with resonance and personality; boldly framed with spicy, creamy oak, almost florid with ripe pineapple-grapefruit flavors, it's ultimately restrained and pure. Excellent. About $32.
The Girard Chardonnay 1997, Napa Valley, wears its 14.1 percent alcohol lightly ; it's an ambitious chardonnay, big and spicy and benefiting from that sweet tension between soft, round ripeness and crisp, dry stoniness. Excellent. About $35.
The elegant Beringer Private Reserve Chardonay 1998, Napa Valley, allows no tropical or buttery touch to mar its delicious and finely detailed apple-pear-pineapple flavors bolstered by smoke, spicy oak and a high-toned mineral element. Excellent. About $36.
Oregon
Dry as a bone but lip-smackin' good, the Eola Hills La Creole Vineyard Chardonnay 1998, Oregon, displays a very deep, sweet ripe core draped with spicy oak and beautifully integrated pineapple-grapefruit flavors leaning slightly toward tropical. Excellent. About $22.
Burgundy
The Bourgogne Old Vines Chardonnay 1998, from Antonin Rodet, offers very pretty lemon drop-limestone scents and flavors touched with anise, dried flowers and an authentic earthy, slightly minerally background. Very good. About $12, and a Terrific Bargain.
Another basic chardonnay from the region is Olivier Leflaive's sprightly yet serious Bourgogne "Les Setilles" 1998, a dry, crisp and stony wine with an elegant, reticent character. Very good+. About $17.
Leflaive's Rully Premier Cru 1997, from a village in the Cote Chalonnaise, nicely balances its earthy and stony nature with good intensity; it's mildly lush and satiny with a delectable core of ripe sweetness, anise and honeysuckle and a framework of spicy oak. Very good+. About $23.
Australia
More finely tuned and integrated than many Australian examples, the Coldstream Hills Chardonnay 1996, Yarra Valley (northeast of Melbourne), focuses on pinpoint apple, pear and mango fruit set in a deft framework of spicy oak; it's luscious and juicy but never cloying. Excellent. About $21 (and fresh as a daisy at 4 years old ).
Italy
With just enough oak to lend spice and firmness, Antinori's Castello della Sala Chardonnay 1999, Umbria, concentrates on lightness, crispness and delicacy, offering refined apple and pear flavors touched with almond and grapefruit. Very good. A bargain at about $12.
Earthy and minerally with hints of mushrooms and almonds, grapefruit and pineapple, the medium-body Della Staffa Chardonnay dell'Alto Adige 1998 is attractive, crisp and tasty. Very good. About $15.
South Africa
Scents of apple, pear and melon with a slightly herbal-floral background form an enticing counterpoint to the solid, firm structure of the Stellenryck Chardonnay 1999, Stellenbosch. With its pleasing purity and resonance, it's one of the best South African chardonnays I've tried. Very good+ and a Real Bargain at about $12.
(E-mail koeppel@gomemphis.com or write The Commercial Appeal, PO Box 134, Memphis, TN 38101.)
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