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The 14 Best Chardonnays To Drink in 2022
The American white wine market is dominated by Chardonnay grapes, mostly those grown in the Napa Valley and Central California. The best Chardonnay wines are also some of the most sought after globally, with the world’s elite winemaking regions crafting top echelon bottles of beautiful white wine enjoyed by many in the American market.
There are tremendous varieties within the Chardonnay wine range; from dry white wine to semi-sweet versions. The price for good wine starts under $10 and goes through to premier bottles worth hundreds of dollars.
The following collection of Chardonnays to sample offers white wine that can be enjoyed by the wine enthusiast in nearly any situation. The list is dominated by American winemakers, although there are beautiful wines from Australia, South Africa, France, and Argentina on the list.
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1. Ramey Fort Ross-Seaview Chardonnay 2018
The winegrowers of Fort Ross-Seaview believe that this part of the Sonoma Coast features the ideal combination of sunshine and cool sea air for producing high-quality Chardonnay and pinot noir wine. The Ramey Fort Ross-Seaview Chardonnay is the perfect balance of power and elegance, offering a dynamic fusion of floral aromas, citrus and tropical fruit flavors, along with the influence of French oak.
The sea salt of the Charles Valley vineyard (just two miles from the Pacific) is evident in the grapes, helping provide subtle accents alongside ripe fruit and complex floral notes. The unique aspects of the Fort Ross-Seaview Chardonnay make it a great bottle for entertaining or a romantic dinner out at your favorite seafood restaurant.
David Ramey is a master vintner and legend of the US winemaking scene. Any one of his great wine expressions could have led this list because of their terroir, taste, and accessibility.
2. Catena Zapata Adrianna White Bones Chardonnay 2019
The most expensive bottle on our list, this tremendous Argentine Chardonnay comes from the Mendoza wine region in the foothills of the Andes. While Malbec and red wine grapes have dominated the international market for these grapes, White Bones is a tremendous example of white grape craft.
The nose features flowers and pear, while the dextrous palate offers a beautiful mix of stone fruit, minerals, and lilting apples. A great wine any old world white burgundy creator would be immensely proud of.
3. Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Chardonnay
The highly regarded Chateau Ste Michelle pairs old school white wine characteristics with the contemporary love for zesty fruit accents. This Chardonnay is an inexpensive and smooth tasting example of Washington State’s premier winery, loaded with natural minerality and acidity buoyed by notes of stone fruit and zesty summer citrus.
A great example of Pacific NorthWest winemaking, a bottle of crisply chilled Chateau Ste. Michelle is ideal for almost any social situation and one that’s certain to impress all types of Chardonnay lovers.
4. Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay 2018
This top-quality natural wine from Grgich Hills is a full-throated and intense Napa Valley Chardonnay, and another string to the bow of esteemed winemaker Mike Grgich. The Estate Chardonnay is full-bodied and redolent with flavors of stone fruit and the orchard, honeysuckle, hazelnuts, and a smattering of white pepper.
Grgich Hills Estate is a vintage American Chardonnay, cleanly structured and layered on the tongue. It suits the enthusiast with a Chardonnay savvy palate who is looking to share a strong example of taste without going overboard on price.
5. Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2019
While not as large and well known as the Hunter Valley or Barossa, Western Australia’s picturesque Margaret River region provides some of the great Australian Chardonnay wines.
The Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay is one of the best bottles to come out of the Margaret River, offering a naturally acidic spine well balanced by complex stone accents and beautiful fresh fruit notes, such as grapefruit, lime, and lemon. This is a tasty bottle that will have wine lovers sitting up and taking notice of both your taste and knowledge of quality Australian Chardonnay.
6. Decoy Sonoma County Chardonnay
Decoy is the inexpensive arm of the leading Duckhorn wine portfolio and offers a range of quality white and red wine at good prices. This tasty, approachable Sonoma County Chardonnay offers vibrant aromas of apple, pear, and lemon zest, with hints of honeysuckle and ripe apricot.
The orchard fruit flavor continues on the tongue, where it is cut with refreshing acidity and hints of French oak. This gives the wine a nice complexity of texture that leads towards a bright, lingering finish.
A quintessential Chardonnay, Decoy offers a quality bottle ideally suited for taking to dinner parties or restaurants across a range of culinary options. It’s also handy if you get stuck and need to pull a drinkable bottle of wine out of the fridge on short notice.
7. Remoissenet Puligny-Montrachet 2019
A classical old world Chardonnay from the Cote d’Or in Burgundy, France, this vibrant 2019 Remoissenet Père & Fils Puligny-Montrachet is an exciting premium Chardonnay. The bottle offers tremendous acidity and earthiness, hallmarks of the Burgundy terroir that pairs with notes of tart summer fruits. This is a top-quality bottle you should select for that intimate special occasion or the celebration of something spectacular.
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8. Peirson Meyer Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2018
Peirson Meyer Russian River Valley Chardonnay is an enjoyably boutique wine featuring lovely, lingering fruit notes and a medium body. It offers a bold and vibrant fruit flavor of apple and melon, yet retains a buttery, lengthy mouthfeel that’s impressively complex.
If you are after a more bombastic Sonoma County Chardonnay than the norm, then this terrifically unique expression would suit an experienced Chardonnay drinker looking for something interesting to try.
9. Racines Bentrock Vineyard Chardonnay 2018
A premium dry white wine from Santa Barbara, Racines Bentrock Vineyard Chardonnay is a delightful expression well worth the price of a bottle. It’s a beautiful example of how the growing wine region of Santa Barbara imbues its fruit with minerality and different stony accents to more traditional Napa Valley Chardonnay.
This is a complex and deftly balanced wine that offers fresh fruit softness to contrast the mineral power on the tongue. If you want an elegant yet strong wine to complement meat and seafood for a special dinner, this Racines Chardonnay would make an excellent choice.
10. Mullineux Family Wines Leeu Passant Chardonnay 2016
South African wines are some of the world’s most underrated, with this bottle from the Mullineux Family in the fertile Stellenbosch region showing why. The Leeu Passant Chardonnay comes from the soil near Helderberg Mountain, creating a lovely smattering of rich earth, salt, and minerals in its fruit. The Chardonnay grapes are matured in French oak barrels (30% new) adding a lovely oak texture and a layer of complexity.
The palate offers hints of bright tropical fruity and lively citrus contrasted by the hint of peppery spice on the tongue. It’s a unique, full-bodied Chardonnay grape experience.
11. Sutter Home Chardonnay
If you’ve got a limited budget and are looking for a cheap and cheerful option to drink with a home cooked meal, you’ll struggle to find a better bottle than Sutter Home at this end of the market. This California Chardonnay provides good value and some versatility on the palate, featuring a medium to full body and a buttery mouthfeel that works nicely alongside flavors of summer fruits like apple and pear.
Inexpensive but dependable, Sutter Home has a good range of white wines – I also recommend the pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc – that suit the budget wine lover looking for an easy-drinking but companionable white wine experience.
12. Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay 2018
In simple terms, the difference between oaked and unoaked chardonnay is that oaked Chardonnay is aged in new oak barrels, while unoaked Chardonnay spends its fermentation time in plastic or stainless steel. If you are looking for a Chardonnay that lacks the flavor imparted through oak barrel maturation, then this bottle from Mer Soleil is a good introductory point for the unoaked variety.
Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay offers the fresh fruit of citrus and honeysuckle combined with a notable minerality that’s accentuated by the absence of oak flavor. A great Chardonnay wine for those who want to explore flavor that lacks the influence of the oak barrel on the palate and in the tannins.
13. McManis Chardonnay
Another reliable yet inexpensive California Chardonnay, this dry white wine undergoes stainless steel fermentation and filtration before being aged in oak. The blend is 94% Chardonnay grape, with a small amount of Muscat Canelli and Chenin Blanc.
The McManis Chardonnay also goes through malolactic fermentation, a process where tart malic acid is changed to become the creamier lactic acid. This results in a softer, creamier mouthfeel that suits the occasional and novice Chardonnay wine drinker. If you’re looking for a companionable easy to enjoy wine bottle at a more than reasonable price, there’s a lot to like about this gentle chardonnay.
14. Cakebread Chardonnay 2019
A recognizable Napa Valley Chardonnay from the esteemed Cakebread Cellars, this is an ideal Chardonnay to enjoy dining out or for gifting (to people you like!). This Cakebread Chardonnay offers a lively aroma of peach and golden apple that’s furthered on the medium-bodied palate, where the tartness of green apple meshes with the wine’s natural acidity. If you want a crisp, quality white wine at a mid-price, then this Cakebread Chardonnay will be extremely satisfying.
