Chardonnay

This ultra-fashionable variety is probably one of the best know white varieties and has been widely planted all over the world, but is famed for being the variety which produces White Burgundies. In recent years a trend away from Chardonnay under the banner "Anything but Chardonnay" or ABC for short has gained some ground. Fortunately this sweeping prejudice is rapidly disappearing as people realise that there is a great deal of good Chardonnay around which has not been overtly oaked.

Characteristics: A high-yielding, flexible and reliable cropper. Chardonnay wines fall generally in the medium to very full-bodied range. The colours are vary from light, greenish yellow to full, almost golden hues. The wines are generally dry to medium-dry and have a varying degree of richness of citrus fruits and/or what is often described as an oily, almost buttery texture on the palate. The wines usually achieve a high degree of alcohol which further adds to their weightiness. In the hands of Burgundy's more quality-conscious growers it achieves its perfect expression combining floral elements with peaches and citrus flavours. With judicious oak maturation the richer more concentrated wines gain structure and a suitable framework in which the wine is capable of developing over many years.

Where is it found?: France, especially Chablis and the Côte d'Or as well as the Maconnais. It is grown extensively in the Languédoc and Ardèche. Very good Chardonnay also comes from North and South America, South Africa and, of course, Australia and New Zealand. Indeed you will not have to look far in most wine-growing countries of the world to find this variety flourishing to a greater or lesser degree.

Wines associated: White Burgundies including Chablis otherwise pretty much the world over.

Food matches: Fish, shellfish, chicken, pork, various cheeses.

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