Top 10 Chardonnays over £20

Following our selection of the top 10 Chardonnays under £20 and the top blanc de blancs Champagnes, the drinks business has picked out the highest performing medallists priced above £20 in the Global Chardonnay Masters 2013.

You might expect Burgundy to dominate this price bracket, but in fact the balance swings very much in favour of the New World, in particular Australia and California. Indeed, where Burgundian expertise does feature, it is through the growing number of international collaborations from producers in this region who have been inspired to look beyond the hallowed Côte D’Or.

However, the versatility and popularity of the Chardonnay grape was impressively demonstrated by successful entries from number of other countries which are less commonly associated with this variety.

Spain, Italy and Canada all make an appearance over the pages that follow, while a pair of gold medals for New Zealand confirms the growing excitement about the quality of Chardonnay that is now emerging from this corner of the globe.

This ability to uncover gems in unlikely places is encouraged by the distinctive format of the drinks business Chardonnay Masters, which stands out for its assessment of wines purely by grape variety rather than region.

Divided only by price bracket and, for ease of judging, whether the style was oaked or unoaked, the blind tasting format allowed wines to be assessed without prejudice about their country of origin.

Wines were scored out of 100, with those gaining over 95 points being awarded the top title of Master. Those earning over 90 points were given a Gold, those over 85 points a Silver and those over 80 points a Bronze.

The wines were judged by Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers over two days on 23 and 24 September 2013 at private members club Broadway House in London.

The judges were: Sarah Abbott MW, wine educator & consultant; Jo Ahearne MW, winemaking consultant; Richard Bampfield MW, consultant; Anthony Barne MW, head of wine, Bonhams UK; Beverley Blanning MW, author & journalist; Alex Hunt MW, purchasing director, Berkmann Wine Cellars; Keith Isaac MW, general manager, Castelnau Wine Agencies; Justin Knock MW, winemaking consultant; Rupert Millar, the drinks business; Sebastian Payne MW, buyer, The Wine Society; Hugo Rose MW, consultant; Gabriel Savage, the drinks business; Ronan Sayburn MS, head of wine, Dorchester Collection UK; Patrick Schmitt, the drinks business

The full list of Master, Gold and Silver medal winners appeared in November 2013’s issue of the drinks business, but turn the page to see the competition’s top performing Chardonnays above £20.

10. Torres Milmanda 2012

Not many people would expect a list of top Chardonnays to kick off with a Spanish example, but this wine is just one of several tools that Torres uses to make wine lovers reconsider the scope of the Iberian peninsular.

Milmanda takes its name from the historic estate in Conca de Barberà, which includes a 75-hectare plot at 500-metres altitude that is used by the Torres family to produce this distinctive Chardonnay.

From these deep, silt-rich soils that lie on top of a limestone base, refreshed by cool nights and a slight maritime influence, Torres produces a golden-hued expression of Chardonnay, which manages to be both rich and vivacious.

9. Marchand & Burch Porongurup Chardonnay 2012

What happens when you combine the expertise of Burgundy with Western Australia? Well, this Chardonnay is just one of several exciting answers.

Having initially bonded over their shared love of Pinot Noir, Jeff Burch of Howard Park and Pascal Marchand, former manager at Domaine Comte Armand and Domaine de la Vougeraie, formed a collaboration spanning both their respective homelands.

This particular example comes from the Great Southern region of Western Australia, more specifically the ancient, mountainous, granite-rich soils of Porongurup.

8. Howard Park Chardonnay 2012

Based on the last entry, it should come as little surprise to find this solo effort from Howard Park also impressed the judges.

In common with its Marchand & Burch counterpart, this Chardonnay also features Porongurup fruit, but this time as part of a blend with grapes from fellow Great Southern sub-regions Mount Barker and Denmark.

2012 was a year that sparked excitable noises from winemakers across Australia and the western end of this vast continent proved no exception. With consistently warm, dry conditions during the growing season, Howard Park’s cool 380m altitude, south facing Mount Barrow vineyard provided the majority of fruit for this vintage.

7. E&J Gallo Winery: Edna Valley Heritage 2011; Gallo Signature Series Russian River Valley 2011; Laguna Russian River Valley 2010

This household name is not often associated with wines in such an elevated price bracket, but this trio of gold medal winners proves the depth of E&J Gallo’s winemaking talent.

Located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Edna Valley Vineyard was bought by the company just in time for this 2011 harvest and shows what the company can achieve in California’s Central Coast AVA.

Meanwhile further north in Sonoma County the former apple orchard that has since been transformed into Laguna Ranch Vineyard provides fruit for both the Laguna Russian River Valley and Gallo Signature Series Chardonnays.

6. Jackson Family Wines: Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay 2010

Another Californian giant shows what it can achieve at the top end with this offering, which combines estate grown grapes from Santa Barbara and Monterey County.

Taken from the top 7.5% of all Kendall-Jackson’s Chardonnay plots, the company notes that 70% of this selection remains the same from year to year in order to achieve a consistent style.

Expect that classic creamy, rich Californian style with some added structure from old vines in Santa Barbara and a refreshing lift of citrus thanks to the hillside fruit of Monterey.

5. Le Clos Jordanne, Claystone Terrace Chardonnay 2009

There may be two big names behind this producer, but the country of origin is – for the moment at least – rather less well known among most of the world’s wine consumers.

Le Clos Jordanne launched in 2006 as a collaborative venture between Constellation Brands and Burgundy’s Boisset family with a focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Ever since then, winemakers Thomas Bachelder and Sébastien Jacquey have been busy working across the estate’s 130 acres to carve a firm place for Canada – and Ontario’s Niagara region in particular – on the global fine wine map.

4. Patz & Hall Wine Company: Hyde Vineyard, Carneros Chardonnay 2011

Founded in 1988, Patz & Hall has since built up an enviable reputation for its single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines, which are produced in tandem with a collection of experienced Californian growers.

Among these is Larry Hyde, one of California’s most respected viticulturalists, whose other ventures include the Hyde de Villaine collaboration with Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée Conti.

Patz & Hall has been working with Hyde since 1990 and launched its first single vineyard wines from his 179-acres Carneros vineyard in 1996.

Although the brand adopts a consistent winemaking model across the various Chardonnays in its portfolio, this house style aims to provide a secure base from which to show off “the voice of each vineyard and vintage”.

3. Bird in Hand: Bird in Hand Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills 2012; Nest Egg Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills 2010

This Adelaide Hills producer, which scooped an impressively and consistent two gold medals in this year’s competition, benefits from the expertise of chief winemaker and leading international consultant Kym Milne MW.

Founded in 2001, Bird in Hand has quickly established itself as a leading exponent of the exciting, more refined stylistic shift which has revitalised Australia’s reputation for Chardonnay.

The Nest Egg label represents the cream of the brand’s crop in any given year. For the highly acclaimed 2010 vintage, this included a very boutique production of just 3,600 bottles of Chardonnay.

2. Monteverro Srl Società Agricola, Monteverro Chardonnay 2010

For all the mind-boggling diversity of local varieties to play with, Italy often shows that it is capable of great flair when it turns its hand to more international interlopers.

Down in the Maremma of southern Tuscany, Monteverro is producing everything from Bordeaux and Rhône blends to this Chardonnay, of which just 3,967 bottles were produced in 2010.

Under German ownership and management but with Greek, French and Swiss influences in the team, including the consultancy expertise of Michel Rolland, this is a truly international operation working to transform a small pocket of Tuscany into something special.

1. Treasury Wine Estates: Devil’s Lair Margaret River Chardonnay 2011; Heemskerk Coal River Chardonnay 2011; Matua Single Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2012; Matua Single Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2011

Hats off to Treasury Wine Estates for this clear signal that Penfolds is not the only gem in its portfolio.

Leading this collection of stellar Chardonnays is Devil’s Lair from the southern end of Margaret River, one of just a handful of wines to be awarded the highest accolade of Master.

However, Treasury Wine Estates has been busy stepping up its vineyard holdings in the rapidly up-and-coming state of Tasmania, which is now producing a high proportion of fruit for its Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay.

Named after the flagship vessel of Abel Tasman, the first European to reach Tasmania back in 1642, Heemskerk sourced its 2011 Chardonnay fruit from Tolpuddle vineyard in Coal River Valley near Hobart.

Meanwhile this Australian group is busy proving that New Zealand white wines have far more to offer than the perennially popular Sauvignon Blanc.

While Matua sources fruit for its various wines from all over the country, this pair of Chardonnays is produced from a single vineyard site in Marlborough. Achieving gold medals in two consecutive vintages demonstrates a consistency which makes this producer one to follow.

What’s more, 2012 saw Treasury step up its investment here in order to back up Matua’s quality with an enlarged winery, bottling and warehouse, which will help the brand to achieve the international profile it clearly deserves.