Chardonnay : le bois change tout, du Chili à Meursault
145 bouteilles, de 8,50 € à 295,00 €This range brings together bottles from eleven countries, from €8.50 to €295.00, with a median of €31.80. France and the United States supply the largest share, ahead of Argentina, South Africa, Australia, Chile and New Zealand. Spain, Italy, Austria and Slovenia complete the list with a few bottles. It is an affordable range: the vast majority of bottles stay under €40.00.
Only one question really matters before buying, and it is not the country: has the grape been through oak? The same variety gives a lemony, razor-sharp white when it ferments in tank, and a broad, buttery white marked by toast when it ferments in barrel. The first table sorts the range on this criterion, the second tells you what this choice changes on the plate. Our shop's white Burgundies, from €19.90 to €188.00, are only one chapter of the story.
Sine Qua Non - Distenta III White 2021
An exceptional white wine that unfolds an aromatic richness, combining intensity, silky texture and an elegance of rare precision
Tabali - Talinay Caliza Chardonnay 2022
A Chardonnay with refreshing acidity and persistent minerality
Glenelly Estate - Glass Collection Unoaked Chardonnay 2022
A Chardonnay embodies the freshness and sunshine of the South African terroir
Atamisque - Viscount of Rochebouet Extra Brut
Une bulle argentine de méthode traditionnelle, brioche fraîche et fleurs blanches.
Domaine Virolys - Viré Clessé White 2023
A Viré-Clessé Chardonnay aged on the lees: pear and peach in a creamy texture.
Domaine de la Roche Aiguë - Meursault Les Clous White 2024
Un Meursault classique, pêche blanche, noisette grillée et craie.
Bonnardot Estate - Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits White "Les Frangines" 2024
Un chardonnay d'altitude, vif de fruit, juste effleuré par le bois.
Sylvain Langoureau - Saint Aubin 1er Cru Le Champlot White 2024
Le Champlot en premier cru, minéralité crayeuse, amande et pêche mûre.
Hospice de Beaune - Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru Albert Grivault 2013
Meursault-Charmes premier cru: peach and hazelnut on a creamy palate.
Kistler - Les Noisetiers Chardonnay 2022
A white cut like the great Meursaults: invigorating nose, vanilla palate, broad texture.
Creation - Chardonnay Reserve 2021
A selection of the best plots in Hemel-en-Aarde: toasted oak, almond and freshness.
Calera - Chardonnay 2020
Chardonnay de haute altitude, pomme verte et amande, porté par une minéralité volcanique.
Sine Qua Non - Distenta I 2019
An exquisite wine that captivates the senses with its unique taste profile
Te Mata Estate - Estate Vineyards Chardonnay 2021
Un chardonnay de Hawke's Bay qui joue la richesse crémeuse sans perdre sa tension citronnée.
Nyetimber - Rosé NV
Un rosé anglais délicat, entre fruits rouges et notes de pâtisserie.
Nyetimber - Cuvée Prestige 1086 rosé 2010
Un rosé anglais de haute précision, entre fruit rouge intense et élégance crayeuse.
Nyetimber - Cuvee Chérie Demi Sec NV
Un demi-sec anglais précis et gourmand, porté par l’éclat du chardonnay.
Nyetimber - Classic Cuvee NV
L’élégance des bulles anglaises, entre fraîcheur crayeuse et gourmandise toastée.
Nyetimber - Blanc de Blancs 2015
Un blanc de blancs anglais ciselé, entre fraîcheur citronnée et profondeur briochée.
Planeta - Chardonnay 2023
Un grand Chardonnay sicilien, solaire et précis, entre richesse crémeuse et fraîcheur marine.
Moss Wood - Chardonnay 2022
Un grand Chardonnay de Margaret River, à la fois solaire, tendu et profondément élégant.
Dona Paula - Los Cardos Chardonnay 2020
Chardonnay vif de Mendoza, agrumes et fruits exotiques, à boire bien frais.
Hahn - Chardonnay 2022
A generous and balanced Californian Chardonnay, where coastal freshness meets rich fruit.
Errazuriz - Aconcagua Costa Chardonnay 2022
A precise and saline Chilean coastal Chardonnay, where ocean freshness meets beautiful aromatic depth.
Cristom - Eola Amity Hills Chardonnay 2020
A precise and saline Chardonnay from Eola-Amity Hills, where the freshness of the cool climate meets the depth of volcanic soils.
Haynes - Corazon 2021
A precise and vibrant Coombsville Chardonnay where freshness, aromatic purity, and textural finesse converge.
Hartenberg - Eleanor Chardonnay 2019
A precise and elegant South African Chardonnay, where the freshness of the Stellenbosch terroir meets a lovely, gourmet richness.
Escarpment - Chardonnay 2020
A precise and vibrant New Zealand Chardonnay, where cool-climate freshness meets lovely textural depth.
Elizabeth Spencer - Chardonnay 2022
A precise and balanced Californian Chardonnay, where coastal freshness meets elegant woody indulgence.
Seresin Estate - Chardonnay 2022
A precise and vibrant Marlborough Chardonnay, where fruit ripeness meets maritime freshness.
Catena Zapata - Adrianna White Stones 2023
A great Argentinian high-altitude Chardonnay, precise, mineral, and with remarkable tension.
Catena Zapata - Adrianna White Bones 2023
A great high-altitude Argentinian Chardonnay, taut, mineral, and deeply marked by its Gualtallary limestone terroir.
Quatre élevages, de la cuve inox à une barrique neuve
Chardonnay does not have an aroma as distinctive as Sauvignon or Gewurztraminer. It takes on the flavour of whatever is done to it, and above all of the vessel in which it ferments and is aged. A stainless-steel tank keeps the lemon, the green apple and the tension. A barrel, especially a new one, brings vanilla, butter, toast and a broader palate. Between the two, most winemakers strike a balance. Here are the four regimes found on the wine pages of our shop, with what they cost here.
| Élevage | What it means in the glass | Fourchette relevée | Bouteille repère, vendue à l'unité |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuve inox, aucun bois Fermentation and ageing in the same neutral vessel | Citron, pomme verte, fleurs blanches, finale saline. Droit et nerveux, sans note grillée. | 9,90 € à 16,80 € | In Situ VSE Classic 2023, 9,90 € |
| Une part du vin en fût The rest stays in tank, and the lots are blended before bottling | Le fruit garde la main, le bois arrondit la bouche et pose une touche de noisette en finale. | 16,50 € à 19,90 € | Domaine Bonnardot Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Blanc 2024, 19,90 € |
| Fermentation en barrique, bois usagé Levures indigènes, élevage sur lies fines, bâtonnage | Texture crémeuse et longue, sans vanille dominante. Le fût donne du gras et de la tenue, pas un goût de bois. | 23,00 € à 122,00 € | Catena Zapata Adrianna White Bones 2023, 122,00 € |
| Barrel with a proportion of new oak Proportion de fûts neufs annoncée, élevage long | Vanille, beurre, pain grillé et amande, sur une bouche ample. C'est le style qui a rendu le cépage célèbre. | 150,00 € à 295,00 € | Cullen Kevin John 2023, 150,00 € |
Three labels show their hand with the word Unoaked, between €11.90 and €16.80. For all the others, the product page tells you the vessel, and the price says nothing about it: the Chilean In Situ at €9.90 is fermented entirely in tank, the Argentinian Adrianna White Bones at €122.00 is made mainly in previously used barrels, and the Sine Qua Non Distenta I, at the very top of the range, spent 23 months in 64% new French oak. Oaked does not mean expensive, and expensive does not mean oaked.
Six doors into a worldwide range
Five countries supply most of the range, and each has its own price level, availability by the bottle and dominant style. The sixth door is the budget one, for tasting the grape variety for under twenty euros.
Burgundy whites
From the Hautes-Côtes to Meursault, from €19.90 to €188.00. This is by far the best-served area for buying by the bottle: almost every wine can be bought individually.
Presque tout à l'unitéÉtats-Unis
From the Columbia Valley to Napa and the Dundee Hills, from €16.50 to €295.00, with a median of €46.00. This is the most expensive country in the range: it dominates the €80.00-and-over bracket.
À l'unité ou par lotAfrique du Sud
Vingt bouteilles de 10,90 € à 71,80 €, médiane à 29,70 €. Neuf d'entre elles viennent de la vallée côtière de Hemel-en-Aarde, sept de Stellenbosch.
À l'unité ou par lotArgentine d'altitude
Twenty-one bottles from €11.90 to €122.00, median €25.00. The vineyards of the Uco Valley climb to 1,200 metres at Bousquet and to 1,450 metres at Catena Zapata's Adrianna vineyard.
À l'unité ou par lotAustralie
Dix-neuf bouteilles de 11,50 € à 150,00 €, médiane à 33,00 €, de la Hunter Valley de Tyrrell's à Margaret River. Attention, trois seulement se prennent à l'unité.
Surtout par lotLe rayon sous 20 euros
Thirty-one bottles, ten of them available by the bottle. Chile and Argentina supply thirteen between them, and all three labels bearing the word Unoaked are found here.
Sous 20,00 €
What oak changes on the plate
A tank-aged Chardonnay and a barrel-aged Chardonnay are not served with the same dishes, even when they come from the same country and the same vintage. The first brings acidity and salinity; it cuts through richness and copes with briny flavours. The second brings volume, a creamy texture and toasty notes; it calls for cooking or a sauce of the same weight. Picking the wrong side spoils the dish as much as the bottle.
| Le plat | Le style à prendre | Pourquoi | Où chercher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huîtres, crevettes, plateau de coquillagesCru, iodé, sans sauce | Cuve inox, aucun bois | L'iode et le pain grillé se contrarient. Il faut de l'acidité et une finale saline, rien d'autre. | Common pairing in this range |
| Poisson blanc rôti, sole meunièreBeurre, crème, agrumes | Une part du vin en fût | The sauce needs a little roundness, but the acidity must remain to cleanse the palate between mouthfuls. | Common pairing in this range |
| Saumon grillé, thon mi-cuit, poisson fuméChair grasse, cuisson vive | Barrique, bois usagé | The richness of the fish absorbs the volume of the wine, and the smoky notes echo the cooking. | Common pairing in this range |
| Volaille rôtie, veau à la crèmePlat mijoté, sauce montée | Barrique, chêne neuf accepté | C'est le seul terrain où un blanc riche passe devant un rouge léger, parce qu'il tient la sauce sans tanin. | Common pairing in this range |
| Comté, beaufort, vieille tommePâte pressée, long affinage | Fût usagé, sur un vin de quelques années | The salt and nutty character of the cheese seek out the toasted almond aromas left by the oak. | Common pairing in this range |
Our shop also stocks six Chardonnay sparkling wines, blanc de blancs and traditional-method wines, from €21.90 to €48.00. Only one is sold by the bottle, the Caelum Eclat Extra Brut at €25.00. They handle the aperitif and fried food, while the tank-aged and barrel-aged wines share the rest of the meal.
Le vrai clivage n'est pas l'origine
People buy Chardonnay by looking at the country first, as if a Burgundy and a Californian were two fundamentally different things. In our cellar, that is not what separates the bottles. A tank-aged Chilean and an unoaked South African are much more alike than a tank-aged Chilean and a barrique-aged Chilean. Tabali's Talinay Caliza, born 12 km from the Pacific on old porous limestone, ferments in used French oak barrels, and its product sheet speaks of a mineral verticality worthy of the great white Burgundies. The vessel counts for more than the border.
Second idea to correct: the buttery, vanilla-laden Chardonnay that made the grape's reputation, and then its bad reputation, is now in the minority. The product sheets that detail their ageing almost all lean towards restraint: stainless-steel tank only, used barrels, or just a fraction of the volume aged in wood. When a proportion of new oak is mentioned, it stays small: 5% of the barrel-aged portion at Seresin, a fifth of the blend at Shadow Point. Outright new oak only really dominates at the very top, at Cullen at €150.00 and at Sine Qua Non.
The consequence is practical. For a taut white to drink within two years, everything happens under €20.00, where the choice is wide, with bottles sold individually from Chile, Argentina or Australia. For a Chardonnay to go with a meal, with richness and length, the €20.00 to €40.00 bracket is the best stocked in the section, and it is where Burgundy is easiest to buy, since almost all its whites are sold by the bottle. Above €80.00, the choice narrows and becomes mostly American: you are paying for a signature as much as for the ageing.
À vérifier avant de payer
The vessel before the country: the product page specifies whether the wine was aged in tank, used barrels or new barriques. This is the information that changes what is in the glass the most.
Buying by the bottle: only part of the section. Burgundy is by far the best served, ahead of Argentina and then South Africa; New Zealand is sold in lots.
Price does not tell you the style: a Chardonnay at €9.90 can be a pure tank wine, and a Chardonnay at €122.00 a wine from used barrels. These are two different approaches, not two levels in the range.
L'équipe du Baroudeur du Vin
Ce qu'on nous demande le plus souvent
How can you tell whether a Chardonnay has been aged in oak?
Three labels in the section say so themselves with the word Unoaked, between €11.90 and €16.80. For the others, the product page gives the vessel: stainless-steel tank for a wine without oak; barrel, barrique, foudre, bâtonnage and fine lees for an oak-aged wine. When the words new oak appear, they are almost always accompanied by a percentage.
Par quelle bouteille commencer sans se tromper ?
Two Chileans sold by the bottle make good starting points: the Santa Rita 120 Reserva Especial at €9.40 and the In Situ VSE Classic at €9.90, the latter fermented in stainless-steel tanks at low temperature, at 850 metres above sea level in the Aconcagua Valley. Both show the grape without oak, which is the best way to find out afterwards whether you like oak.
Are all bottles sold individually?
Part of the section can be bought by the bottle, the rest in lots. Availability varies greatly from one country to another: Burgundy whites are almost all sold by the bottle, Argentina offers about half, South Africa and Australia a handful, and New Zealand is sold in lots. The price shown on the product page always tells you what it covers.
Qu'est-ce qui sépare un bourgogne blanc d'un chardonnay du Nouveau Monde ?
Climate first: cooler in Burgundy, which gives more acidic, tauter wines at the same ripeness. Then price, and in our cellar it does not go the way you might think: the Chilean median is €13.90, the Argentine median €25.00, the Burgundy median €32.50 and the American median €46.00. Here, a Chardonnay from California costs more than a village Burgundy.
Are there any great whites from the Côte de Beaune?
Yes, and all sold by the bottle. The Meursault Les Clous du Domaine de la Roche Aiguë is €66.00, the Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Le Champlot de Sylvain Langoureau at €59.90, and the top of the French range is a 2013 Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru from the Hospice de Beaune, at €188.00. The rest of the area can be found in our collection Côte de Beaune.
Le chardonnay se garde-t-il ?
It depends entirely on the ageing. A tank-aged wine, lively and fruity, is drunk within two to three years of the harvest and has nothing to gain from waiting. A barrel-fermented wine, with its lees and bâtonnage, commonly lasts five to ten years and gains in complexity. The section offers an example with the 2013 Meursault-Charmes from the Hospice de Beaune, still on sale today.
Are there any Chardonnay sparkling wines in this section?
Six, between €21.90 and €48.00, blanc de blancs made by the traditional method: two South African Cap Classiques, two Argentine sparkling wines and two Australian ones. Only one is available by the bottle, the Caelum Eclat Extra Brut at €25.00. For French bubbles made from the same grape, take a look at our collection Champagne.
À quelle température servir un chardonnay ?
A tank-aged wine is served cool, at around 10 °C, which brings out its tension and saline finish. A barrique-aged wine is served two to three degrees warmer; otherwise the cold shuts down the hazelnut and toast aromas and leaves only the bitterness of the oak. A bottle taken out of the fridge at 6 °C shows almost nothing: better to leave it on the table for twenty minutes.
Are all these bottles pure Chardonnay?
No, a few are blends in which Chardonnay dominates or plays a major role. The Bousquet Chardonnay Torrontés combines two grape varieties, San Marzano's Edda Bianco adds Moscatello Selvatico and Fiano, the Paso Primero Blanco mixes Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay and Riesling, and Bodegas Tobia's Daimon White brings together five. Each wine's product page gives the exact composition.
What budget should you aim for to get a good Chardonnay?
The median price in this range is €31.80, and the best-stocked bracket runs from €20.00 to €40.00. That is where you will find most of the food wines, ripe enough to stand up to a sauce without tipping into oak. Below €20.00, the range offers easy-drinking, rather lively Chardonnay. Above €80.00, the choice narrows, and the price gap owes more to rarity than to style. The rest of our white wine range lets you compare with other grape varieties.