Chardonnay, Rest of the New World, including Argentina, Chile & New Zealand
2018 Gold 4 Silver 6 Bronze 3 Commended 7
2017 Gold 2 Silver 2 Bronze 5 Commended 10
There are very good Chardonnays in New Zealand and Argentina – even the odd one in Chile. We know this. But none of these countries is getting much momentum behind the variety, and that was the case again this year. Considering there are three large producing countries here, the medal count was low – the reason we’ve lumped them all together in one section.
In fact, they seem to be going backwards. New Zealand, Chile and Argentina all got half the Chardonnay medals this year that they did in 2015.
It could, perhaps, be that they’re just in the early stages of reinventing themselves with the grape, or that (perhaps worse) they’re not changing at all and still trying to produce the same kind of wines that they did 20 years ago. It won’t work – they’ll just keep losing listings to Australia, South Africa and California.
On the plus side, well done to Saint Clair, which clearly does know exactly what it’s about. This was the third year on the trot (and the third consecutive vintage) that its Omaka Reserve Chardonnay has made it on to the Gold List.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘My issue [with the Chileans] is that they camouflage the Chardonnay, and almost seem to try to sell it as a Sauvignon Blanc with a bit more weight. These were really grassy, with sugar snap pea notes. You had to get to the £11 to £15 price point, and then they delivered.’ Mattia Mazzi, Lutyens Bar & Restaurants
‘Over the last couple of years Argentina has shone in this overall category, but New Zealand showed very well this year.’ Michael Fiducia, Coworth Park Ascot
‘A quarter had matchstick reduction, a couple worked really well. But if you haven’t got the complexity to go with it, it’s not that interesting. The more you paid the more you got fermentation in barrel, matchstick reduction, more interesting styles.’ Sam Caporn MW, team leader
‘Fantastic, loved them. The reduction in concentration of fruit was quite stark – the freshness, the liveliness, the zippiness. Sweet vanilla fruit, baked apple compote styles that were really pleasing.’ James Franklin, Fenwick
‘If you have a customer who likes Chardonnay from Argentina or New Zealand, they don’t expect matchstick reduction. It’s more of a sommelier wine than a supermarket wine.’ Christoph Hons, Park Chinois