Wine column: try chardonnay from less familiar regions

Chardonnay doesn't have such a surprising background, but among its ultra-close relatives are syrah, viognier, gamay and a host of native Italian grapes.

Chardonnay, love it or hate it (though so blunt a negative reaction is entirely unfair), remains the dominant white grape in many of the world's most respected wine regions, and it's increasingly starring in England.

But might Burgundy be pricing itself out as the world's chardonnay hot spot?

Dalrymple vineyards in Tasmania (Image: Fells)

For the finest wines, only those from Macon to the south and Chablis to the north can be a mite more budget friendly. Elsewhere in France and way beyond there are much cheaper expressions of the grape. Are they worth buying?

Yes, quite often - provided you choose carefully. What are a delight now, however, are great chardonnays from less familiar locations, notably cooler spots in the new world.

They may not be bargain priced, but styles are appetisingly varied - and those sickly over-oaked examples that made ABC (anything but chardonnay) the mantra of many drinkers are now largely history.

Oak still features in their making, but often the barrels have seen several years' previous use, limiting the impact of over-creamy coconut and vanilla flavours on the wine.Happily sickly over oaked chardonnays are now a thing of the past (Image: Courtesy of the producer)

Or they're replaced by bigger format wooden containers whose volume allows the wine to retain its grape-led character. Even new oak barriques are handled with restraint.

What follows is a tiny but tempting selection of such wines, all ones that I've much enjoyed recently. The styles vary - some are rich, some lighter, some emphasise a stoniness or a citrus element - but take my word for it that these are all stylish, complex and eminently drinkable.

From Chile, Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa 2021 (£17.50, shop.oxfordwine.co.uk) is at the more intense end of the scale, with tropical fruit, yet it remains fresh.From Chile Errazuriz make an intense wine from the grape (Image: Courtesy of the producer)

Abbotts & Delaunay Domaine de la Métairie d'Alon Le Village 2022 (£18 mix-six, Majestic), crisp and textured, shows smart close-to-burgundian style from the Languedoc hills in far southern France.

Tasmania is ideal cool-climate chardonnay country, proved by Dalrymple Pipers River 2021, a pure and pleasing food wine. Somewhat lighter and ending with a sprightly lime tang is Robert Oatley Signature Series 2023 (£13 mix-six, Majestic), from another cool Oz region, Margaret River.

England's old problem was being too chilly to make good still chardonnay. Climate change has sorted that, though it has brought different challenges.A bottle to try in October (Image: Courtesy of the producer)

Great examples come from all over the south - some I particularly like are: Simpson's Gravel Castle 2023 and The Roman Road 2022 (£19.50 and £29, simpsonswine.com), Oxney Organic (£25, oxneyestate.com), Balfour Skye's 2022 (£25, balfourwinery.com), Chapel Down Kit's Coty 2021 (£36, chapeldown.com), Gusbourne Guinevere 2022 (£40, gusbourne.com).

Excellent English selections are at thewinesociety.com, hawkinsbros.co.uk, grapebritannia.co.uk and on the high street at Waitrose and M&S.

But remember that very classy white wines come from other grapes. Here are three: Val do Galir 2023 (from £17, farehamwinecellar.co.uk and other independents), made in high-altitude Valdeorras in north western Spain by rioja giant CVNE, takes the underrated godello grape to deliciously impressive heights, a cornucopia of flavour that lingers long and memorably. 'Why buy Burgundy?' I noted.

Picpoul de pinet from the edge of the Mediterranean is often pretty straightforward, but there's plenty of complexity and interest in lees-aged Ormarine Cuvée Estela 2023 (£12 mix-six, Majestic). Or try a New Zealand take on Spain's popular albariño, Leftfield 2023 (£13, Tesco), with a crunchy crispness and lots of aromatics.

Returning home, England's red offerings are becoming better and better, and there's interesting innovation. At Camel Valley in Cornwall, Sam Lindo is using an intriguing technique - cutting up destemmed grapes with a big stick blender - to make a richly coloured pinot noir (£25, camelvalley.com) with dense cherry flavours.

At Oxney organic estate on the Sussex/Kent border, Kristin Syltevik has established a solera for her pinot, to ensure good results year on year. The current Woodhouse Pinot (£27, oxneyestate.com), bright and flavoursome, is proof of the technique.

And England's wine college, Plumpton in Sussex, adds even more into an exhilarating national blend of enterprise and skill.