Chardonnay: grape flavours and France's finest wines

Born in Burgundy, it is a natural cross of Pinot and almost forgotten Gouais Blanc, identified genetically. Its name matches Chardonnay village in southern Burgundy's Mâconnais; one theory derives the grape's name from it.

For centuries, Burgundy and Champagne dominated. In the later 20th century, California, Australia, Chile, South Africa, New Zealand and Italy planted thousands of hectares. Now almost every wine country grows it. By the 1990s, fatigue sparked ABC, “Anything But Chardonnay”. Fresher, less oaky wines restored its popularity.

The “winemaker's grape” has little assertive natural aroma but expresses place and style beautifully. Three factors shape flavour.

1. Climate

2. Oak

• Unoaked, stainless steel: fresh, fruity and pure, like most Chablis and Mâcon.

• Barrel-aged: vanilla, toast, coconut, hazelnut, clove and fuller texture, like Meursault and Puligny.
• New oak proportion: fine Burgundy may use plenty without shouting; cheap oak-chip wines sometimes smell like furniture.

3. Malolactic fermentation and lees

After the main fermentation, many Chardonnays undergo malolactic fermentation, which converts sharp malic acid to softer lactic acid, bringing butter and cream. Ageing on lees, dead yeast, with bâtonnage, regular stirring, adds brioche, nuts and an oily texture.

The same grape thus spans incisive Chablis to buttery Meursault.

French labels rarely say Chardonnay, preferring Chablis, Meursault or Pouilly-Fuissé. Cheap southern and New World wines emphasise grape names. Many people therefore do not realise Chablis is Chardonnay.

Chablis is Chardonnay: all white Chablis uses this grape. The difference is place and style:

• Chablis: cool northern Burgundy, Kimmeridgian limestone with fossil shells; lemon, apple, minerality, usually unoaked.

• Chardonnay on a label: a grape without a particular place, any country or style, fresh or buttery.

Read “Chablis”.

Read “Sancerre and Vouvray”.

The short Côte de Beaune hillside south of Beaune may make the world's finest whites:

• Meursault, the butteriest: hazelnut, toast and cream. Premiers Crus include Perrières, Charmes and Genevrières.

• Puligny-Montrachet, finest and most mineral: white flowers and citrus.
• Chassagne-Montrachet, between them, fruit, flowers and more breadth.
• Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet, Grands Crus between two villages; Montrachet is among the world's dearest whites.
• Corton-Charlemagne, a powerful, long-lived hilltop Grand Cru, named for Charlemagne according to legend.

Southern Mâconnais is sunnier. Pouilly-Fuissé, with Premiers Crus since 2020, and Saint-Véran give juicy fruit and Burgundy's best value. Do not confuse Pouilly-Fuissé with Loire Sauvignon Pouilly-Fumé.

Oaked Chardonnay works poorly with spicy or sweet food: oak and alcohol heighten burning. But buttery Chardonnay with rich cream sauce is a great wine pairing.

• Temperature: fresh 8–10 °C; oaked and aged 12–13 °C. Icy Meursault loses aroma.

• Glass: standard white for fresh styles, broad Burgundy glass for aged wines.
• Decanting: optional, though young great Burgundy may need thirty minutes of air.
• Ageing: Chablis and Mâcon within two to five years; Côte de Beaune Premier and Grand Cru five to fifteen years after harvest.

1. Style: fresh means Chablis, Petit Chablis, Mâcon or Montagny; rounded means Meursault, Pouilly-Fuissé or southern Chardonnay.
2. Read place, not grape: Burgundy names villages.
3. Start with good Bourgogne Blanc, €15–25, the same grape as great wines.
4. Want oak? Check the back label: “élevé en fût de chêne” means barrel-aged.
5. Do not overpay for Grand Cru initially: a good estate's Premier Cru can be more interesting.

Read “Choosing wine in a shop” and “Grand Cru and Premier Cru”.

Burgundy is restrained: less ripe fruit and sweetness, more acidity, minerality and length. It develops over dinner and years, rather than chasing a loud first impression.

In its youth, Chardonnay is all about fruit, flowers and a sense of freshness in the glass. After five to ten years, good Burgundy develops hazelnut, honey, mushrooms and dried herbs, turning golden. The best Meursault and Puligny live 15–20 years.

There is a risk: since the mid-1990s, some white Burgundy has suffered premature oxidation, or premox. Wines expected to last fifteen years became dark and lost freshness after six to eight years, resembling sherry. Causes remain uncertain, including corks and cellar changes. Producers improved matters, but avoid waiting too long and open an early bottle from a case to check.

Compare three wines in one evening:

1. Chablis, fresh and unoaked.
2. Mâcon-Villages or Saint-Véran, sunny and fruity.
3. Meursault or barrel-aged Bourgogne Blanc, oaky and creamy.

Add California or Australia if desired. Serve fish, creamy chicken and Comté. Differences surprise even those who “dislike Chardonnay”.

White Burgundy is particularly good with cheese. Fresh Chablis suits goat's cheese and young Comté; Pouilly-Fuissé Brie and Camembert; aged Meursault 24-month Comté, Beaufort and Gruyère, matching nutty notes. Local Cîteaux, made by monks at the abbey near Nuits-Saint-Georges, is a classic Burgundian cheese to pair with white wine. Powerful Époisses overwhelms Chardonnay; choose marc or red instead. Read “French cheeses”.

1. Thinking Chardonnay always oaky and buttery. Chablis is Chardonnay too.
2. Confusing Pouilly-Fuissé and Pouilly-Fumé.
3. Serving icy Meursault.
4. Choosing it for spicy food.
5. Looking for Chardonnay on Burgundy labels. Look for villages.

Our wine tour follows the Côte de Beaune from Corton to Chassagne-Montrachet, tasting Chardonnay in Meursault and Puligny cellars and comparing with Chablis. → Burgundy wine tour · Discover Burgundy wines on tour · Chablis