Grape variety : Chardonnay

Chardonnay: Origins and Characteristics of This Grape Variety

As the second most widely planted white grape variety in the world, Chardonnay is an essential varietal. How did this grape, the source of the most prestigious white Burgundies and the finest Champagnes, manage to conquer the New World? Follow our guide to explore everything you need to know about Chardonnay through its history, aromatic characteristics, and the wines it produces. We also provide all the tips you need for the best food and wine pairings with Chardonnay-based wines.

Description and Origins of This Grape Variety

Chardonnay is a medium-sized white grape variety originally from Burgundy. While legend has it that Chardonnay was brought to France by the Crusaders, its true origins were discovered at the end of the 20th century. It is now known that Chardonnay is actually a cross between Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, two Burgundian grape varieties. Thus, the historical cradle of Chardonnay is indeed Burgundy, and most likely the Mâconnais region.

Aromatic Characteristics

When planted in a cool climate, such as in Burgundy, Jura, or the Loire Valley, Chardonnay produces a dry white wine with a vibrant and mineral profile, featuring delicate notes of citrus, white flowers, and dried fruits. When aged in oak barrels, Chardonnay develops toasted, vanilla, and brioche aromas while maintaining the wine’s mineral qualities and freshness.

Conversely, when grown in warmer climates like Languedoc or the New World, Chardonnay becomes more opulent and generous. It then offers aromas of ripe fruits (apple, pear, apricot), and sometimes exotic fruits (mango, candied pineapple), with notes of honey and butter. When vinified as a sparkling wine or Blanc de Blancs Champagne, Chardonnay is characterized by its minerality and finesse.

Main Terroirs Where It Is Cultivated in France

As we have seen, Chardonnay is a very versatile grape variety that expresses itself differently depending on the terroir, region, and climate in which it is grown. Originating in Burgundy, like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay has built a reputation in numerous French and international vineyards. In France, while Chardonnay is renowned for the prestigious Burgundian appellations such as Chablis, it is also highlighted in other regions. From Grand Cru Champagnes, to the Jura, the Loire Valley, and down to the South (Languedoc IGP and AOC Limoux), Chardonnay is the source of many white wines, either as a single varietal or blended with other grapes.

Best Food and Wine Pairings with Chardonnay

Here are our tips for successful food and wine pairings with Chardonnay through the best French appellations:

• For a festive aperitif, why not pop a bottle of Blanc de Blancs Champagne from a domain in AOC Champagne, made from 100% Chardonnay or blended with Pinot Noir? Its delicate aromas of dried fruits, citrus, and its fresh, refined palate will whet your appetite. You can also pair it with caviar or an oyster platter.
• For a dish like scallop gratin or creamy poultry, choose a richer Chardonnay aged in oak barrels, such as a bottle of white Burgundy from AOC Meursault or AOC Chablis Premier Cru. With its bouquet of white flowers, brioche, and vanilla, and a full-bodied, mineral palate, these wines will enhance your creamy dishes and shellfish.
• To accompany a grilled fish at a barbecue, opt for a Southern Chardonnay with a bottle of white wine from IGP Pays d’Oc, offering a rounded profile. Its ripe fruit notes, butter and almond flavors, and medium acidity pair perfectly with fish.

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Oaked and unoaked Chardonnay: two styles of dry white

Chardonnay owes much of its worldwide success to its range: few white grapes move so easily from taut, mineral wines to rich, barrel-aged whites. In a cool climate and without oak, it stays crisp and precise, built on citrus, white flowers and a stony freshness, the style that made Chablis famous. These unoaked white wines are all about tension and purity.

Barrel aging takes Chardonnay in the other direction, adding toasted, vanilla and brioche notes and a fuller, rounder texture while keeping the fruit and freshness underneath. This is the hallmark of the great white Burgundy wines of the Côte de Beaune, and of the riper, more generous Chardonnays from warmer regions and the New World. Same grape, two very different glasses, which is exactly why it suits so many tastes and tables.

Serving and cellaring a Chardonnay wine

Serve most Chardonnays at around 10 to 12 °C. The crisp, mineral and unoaked styles show best toward the cooler end, with Chablis a touch cooler still, so their citrus and white-flower aromas stay lively. Richer, oak-aged whites such as a Meursault can take the upper part of that range, where their brioche and vanilla notes and fuller texture open up, while a Blanc de Blancs Champagne made from Chardonnay is served well chilled as an aperitif.

Store your bottles lying down, away from light and heat and at a steady temperature. The lighter, mineral styles are best enjoyed young, while they still have their freshness and bite, whereas the richest, oak-aged cuvées can be kept for longer. There is rarely any need to rush: the right glass and the right temperature are enough to show what Chardonnay can do.

Frequently asked questions about Chardonnay

Is Chardonnay a dry white wine?

Yes, Chardonnay is a dry white grape variety and the great white grape of Burgundy. It is also a key Champagne grape and is grown worldwide, producing everything from crisp, mineral whites to rich, oaked styles.

What does Chardonnay taste like?

Chardonnay ranges from crisp and mineral to rich and oaked. In a cool climate and without oak it shows citrus, white flowers and a lively minerality; aged in oak or grown in warmer regions it turns rounder and riper, with ripe fruit, honey, vanilla and brioche.

At what temperature should you serve Chardonnay?

Serve Chardonnay at around 10 to 12 °C, with Chablis and the crisp, unoaked styles a touch cooler. Richer, oak-aged white Burgundies show best toward the upper part of that range.

Where is Chardonnay grown?

Chardonnay is the great white grape of Burgundy, from Chablis through the Côte de Beaune to the Mâconnais, and a key grape in Champagne. It is also planted in the Jura, the Loire Valley and the Languedoc, and across the world’s vineyards.