Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a crossing of pinot noir and gouais blanc, an ordinary medieval grape that the French repeatedly tried to ban. That accidental pairing produced chardonnay, gamay, aligoté, melon de Bourgogne and about a dozen others, which makes gouais blanc one of the most consequential grapes in history despite making poor wine itself.

Chardonnay's defining quality is that it has very little character of its own. It is a neutral, high-yielding, adaptable white with moderate acidity, and it takes on the flavour of everything done to it. Oak gives it vanilla and toast. Malolactic fermentation converts its sharp malic acid to softer lactic acid and gives it butter and cream. Lees stirring gives it texture and a bready note. Cool sites and stainless steel leave it lean, green apple and citrus. This is not a weakness. It is why chardonnay is planted everywhere.

The range runs from Chablis, grown on Kimmeridgian clay full of fossil oyster shell and usually made without new oak, through the Côte de Beaune, where Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet are the reference for oaked white, to warm-climate versions from California and Australia. It is also the sole grape of blanc de blancs Champagne, where its neutrality and acidity are exactly what a base wine needs.