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The Last Great California ChardonnaysWines so lean and elegant they could be Burgundies.

By Mike SteinbergerPosted Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008, at 4:01 PM ET

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Although some of the first serious chardonnays in California benefited from malolactic fementation, the process became a standard feature of chardonnay production in California in the 1980s, frequently yielding thick, creamy, amorphous wines that also displayed a pronounced buttery note (a byproduct of this secondary fermentation). It didn't help that a lot of vintners were harvesting overripe fruit that was notably deficient in acidity. At the same time, the use of oak turned increasingly indiscriminate, to the point where the wood tended to overwhelm the wine. Thus the irony: Classic Burgundian methods ended up taking California chardonnay in a distinctly un-Burgundian direction. And this was true across all price points—from discount bottlings to high-end ones. Sweet, fat, and oaky emerged as the signature California style.

It is an undeniably popular one, a point underscored by the fact that the amount of California chardonnay sold annually has quintupled since 1990 and currently stands at nearly 50 million cases per year. But none of them are in my cellar. I find the wines clumsy and cloying; even the most skillfully executed ones taste like melted popsicles to me. They are exhausting to drink and pretty much impossible to pair with food (they are often described as cocktail wines, and that's precisely what they are—except I wouldn't want to drink them for cocktails, either). Nor am I a solitary refusenik; there are lots of grape nuts who now live by the acronym ABC (as in, Anything But Chardonnay). It is periodically suggested that consumers and vintners alike are growing weary of butterball chardonnays. Some undoubtedly are, but I don't see any indication that these confections are yet going the way of bell bottoms.

Fortunately, the Hanzells, the Stony Hills, the Montelenas and a few others never went over to the tutti-frutti side. They kept the oak influence in check, and with the exceptions of Ridge and Mount Eden, both of which produce chardonnays from cool, high-altitude vineyards that provide plenty of natural acidity, they eschewed malolactic fermentation. (Hanzell does a partial one; around 30 percent of the final blend undergoes the process.) In the half-century or so since most of them laid down roots, these producers have gone from being avant-garde to old guard, but they still make what I and many others think are California's finest chardonnays—graceful, refreshing wines that offer a strong sense of place but also, paradoxically, evince a real Burgundian sensibility. Better yet, most of them are very affordable for the quality they offer. Now that one of their number has reached the big screen, demand and prices may well spike (indeed, Bottle Shock has evidently triggered a run on the 2006 Montelena chardonnay). But if they do, it will only mean that the judgment of the market has finally caught up with the Judgment of Paris.

Even the most Cali-phobic wine buffs will be impressed by these chardonnays. The 2006 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay ($42) does its 1973 forebear proud. Marked by lime, pear, honeysuckle, and mineral scents, it is a crisp, zesty wine, but one that also packs the same subtle underlying richness that one finds in top-flight white Burgundies. Note: Adding irony to cinematography, the Barretts recently agreed to sell Montelena to the owner of Château Cos d'Estournel, a Bordeaux second growth. The 2006 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Chardonnay ($70) is sensational, too. (It will be released in September 2009; the 2004 Monte Bello chardonnay is the currently available vintage.) Tangerine, honeysuckle, and mineral aromas burst out of the glass, along with Meursault-like notes of oatmeal and roasted nuts. (Meursault is one of the leading white Burgundy appellations.)

The 2005 Mount Eden Estate chardonnay ($48) serves up a big whiff of pineapple, along with flowers, lanolin, minerals, and a lick of vanilla. It is a rich, dense chardonnay that is unmistakably Californian, but there is plenty of acidity to balance out the fruit and keep the wine from sprouting love handles. The terrific 2006 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay ($35) displays a real cool-climate character, with pronounced green apple, tart peach, and lemon notes and a steely acid-and-mineral backbone. The 2005 Hanzell Vineyards Chardonnay ($65) is another winner. It is a little reticent at first, but aeration brings out an excellent bouquet punctuated by honey, pear, and citrus aromas. The Hanzell shows lots of ripe fruit and has a rich, creamy texture, but there is also an admirable restraint and sense of proportion to the wine. The 2006 Stony Hill Vineyard Chardonnay ($36) has an attractive bouquet redolent of green apples, honeysuckle, and—catnip for me—marzipan. Here, too, exuberant fruit is parried by bright acidity, making for a thoroughly enjoyable chardonnay.

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Mike Steinberger is Slate's wine columnist. He can be reached at . His book, Au Revoir to All That, is about the rise, fall, and future of French cuisine.

Photograph of wine on the Slate home page by Getty Creative.

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