Sainsbury’s, Taste the difference, Blanc de Blanc, Chardonnay, Non Alcohol, Sparkling wine
Is wine really wine if there’s no alcohol? Well at 0.5% this does have alcohol, just. It’s really rather good, excellent I would say. Off dry, clean, crisp with peach notes and a soft creamy undertone it’s not a wine that screams 30kcal a glass. Could this be the next big sparkling wine? At £3.75 a bottle it’s well worth trying. Gold star from me.
London Cru, Chardonnay, 2020, California, USA
Made in the USA, Santa Barbara this is a clean, crisp and flavour full Chardonnay which is absolutely cracking. At £30 a bottle it should be but excellent. The wine has great length and the citrus is soft with a buttery under tone that is a great example of Chardonnay at its best. Pair with fish, zesty salad or just on its own, Stonking.
Vinarija Jovac, Single Vineyard Selection, Chardonnay, Serbia
This single Vineyard Chardonnay from Serbia went down a storm with friends. It’s dry and light with good acidity and all that tried it, loved it. Long length of ripe pineapple, citrus, lime, pear and melon made this a firm favourite. A great Chardonnay to just drink and enjoy on a summer’s evening.
Wine from China is getting better, although this Moon Valley, Chardonnay, while drinkable is rather lacklustre. It’s white wine but doesn’t seem to give any reference to this noble grape, it could be from any grape. Acid, dry and non descript is the best I can put it. There are better chinese wines out there.
Chateau de la Greffiere, Chardonnay, 2022, Macon la Roche, France
The french generally produce great Chardonnay and this is a perfect example. Its dry, clean, fresh with subtle flavours of citrus and peach with a creamy undernote which makes it a delight to drink. At £16 a bottle it’s decent value too.
Berton vineyard, Chardonnay, 2022, Eden Valley, Australia
Another typical cheap Australian Chardonnay? Not quite. This one from Berton vineyard is ok, not outstanding but decent if you like a slightly heavier white wine. Lots of ripe citrus, pineapple and hints of grapefruit. As such it holds its length well, although thats more by brute force of flavour.
Personally, at £15 a bottle it’s over priced. For me it’s like Ford Fiesta car, nothing wrong in many ways but I’m not paying VW golf prices for it.
Delaire Graff, Chardonnay, Banghoek Reserve, 2021, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Rather good is this Chardonnay from Delaire Graff in Stellenbosch. Its a solid dry chardonnay with plenty of flavour’s. Balanced acidity shows off the components with citrus, lime, lemon, pear and melon all showing up. There’s a little creaminess/butter and subtle oak in the back ground.
The downside is the £30 price mark which is a little steep but is worth trying.
St Hugo, Chardonnay, 2022, Eden Valley, Australia
I am partial to a crisp buttery chardonnay and was looking forward to tasting this one from St Hugo’s but it wasn’t quite what I expected. Its a dry, crisp white wine with plenty of acidity. Lots of green apples and grass with a big hit of lemon and some grapefruit make it unbalanced to me. I was hoping for more buttery and vanilla notes and these make come through in the coming years if left.
At £20 a bottle its not cheap and I would like to try it again in 5 or 7 years to see how it matures.
Greenhough, Road Block, Chardonnay, 2019, New Zealand
We use to drink a lot of the Greenhough Sauvignon Blanc at one stage, so I was eager to try the Road Block, Chardonnay. Unfortunately it’d not as good. This Chardonnay dry but is very green and acidic, lots of green apple, grass notes but the acidity is too much unless you have food. A tried it with a ripe brie cheese and it took the edge off quite well. At under £10 it’s just a no, on all levels from me
Le Quattro Terre Bianco, Chardonnay, Nebbiolo, 2019, Piemonte, Italy
This is a different blend than many white wines from Italy with Chardonnay making up 60 % and Nebbiolo making up 40%. Dry and crisp with rich aromas it’s fresh and ‘pointed’ in that its flavours ard there from the beginning but fade a bit quick. Lemon and citrus are thd main flavours with a hint if nuttiness in there.
At £15 a bottle it’s too expensive.