With red’s I can very clearly define the quality of the wine by price, of course there a few exceptions and it gets a lot harder to define as the price gets higher but in general terms a $50 red is going to be significantly better than a $10 red.
In Chardonnay though I cant seem to confirm any pattern, higher end chards don’t taste any better than a good $10-$15 chard. A good bottle like a Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells chard can hold its own against $50 from Pisoni, Kosta, Liquid Farm etc.
Is this just me having blinkers for chardonnay and not appreciating the grape or do others feel same way
I’m not going to argue this wine is better than that wine, but moving out past California, Chardonnays from the Macon can deliver a ton of quality and pleasure for not a whole lot of money. I think, in general, that applies to quite a number of non-American wines that often deliver a lot more at the modest price end compared to their U.S. price point rivals.
Hi Alan,
I think it’s safe to say that if you like a Chardonnay with tropical fruit, butterscotch and a smooth, buttery finish, you’ll prefer the Ste Michelle Indian Wells to Liquid Farm, which (especially their White Hill) highlights citrus, saline, minerals and acidic cut. From my personal perspective, the former doesn’t hold a candle to the latter.
A comparison of the Indian Wells to a Rombauer, Newton or similarly styled Chardonnay would make more sense to me; I prefer the Ste Michelle to those, although I personally don’t like that style.
I’ll keep spending my wine purchasing $$ on Rhys, Ceritas and Liquid Farm (and Dauvissat, G. Picq, Louis Michel). They’re not cheap, but still seem like great quality for the price from my perspective.
Cheers,
Warren
Alan, you raised a question at the end of your post. I would say that chardonnay can improve at the higher price points, and it’s key to get some additional labels into your perspective. Liquid Farm White Hill is a very good example, so would be say Wind Gap James Berry (at less than $30, BTW), as well as the others mentioned like Copain Laureles Grade, Rhys Horseshoe, Louis Michel 1er Crus (I had one last night that was exactly $30, the Sechet, and it was terrific), etc. However, as to the point the other guys made above, you have to also remain conscious of style if you are going to compare and make assessments about value.
Although I may not be a fan of the Indian Wells example, I tend to find that it is easier for me to find good chard at lower prices than most red wines. I typically look to Macon, Chablis, or maybe even Oregon. Not to say that the lower priced bottles equal the higher end bottles, but I can usually find very enjoyable chards (even more so with other whites) around $20 and save most of my splurges for red wine, where value is a bit more difficult to find in my opinion. That being said, my mind has been blown on several occasions by more expensive Chardonnay and it would be a mistake to dismiss the category entirely.
As any wine in any grape variety increases in price the incremental step up in depth is not one for one. This is as true of Cabernet and Riesling as it is of Chardonnay. Then there is also our own personal preferences at play when evaluating the incremental increase in depth vs. price. I am 100% happy to live in sub $20 QBA- Kabinett world of German Riesling, when I drink Riesling, because I don’t care for the added sweetness of a more expensive Spatlese or Auslese. The expensive highend Trokens haven’t rocked me either. So, I think its entirely possible to satisfy your particular Chardonnay palate preferences at a lower price point if you find the style you prefer. I have about 140 btls of assorted Chablis in my cellar and lately I’ve been reluctant to buy many Grand Cru anymore. Yes, Grand Cru Chablis is the best and shows the most depth but, with Fevre and Dauvissat selling at $90 plus for Grand Cru I’m pretty happy hunting down terrific $20-$30 AOC and Lers from lesser know producers like Grossot. I’m getting pretty reluctant to pay $60 plus more for Grand Cru Chablis depth. In CA Cabernet, I’m pretty happy with Mt Eden’s sub $50 estate Cab and you’ll never see me paying $150 for a CA Cab. OTOH, if I was a multi millionaire I’d keep buying and drinking a lot of the top labels, but I’d still regularly seek and enjoy the many great value btls too.
BTW Alan, try a Bonneau Martray Corton Charlemagne for around $120 sometime. Corton Charlemagne still provides a headturning ( wow, what’s this you poured me)Chardonnay experience for $125 or less compared with Montrachets selling for $300 plus. Ton’s of depth in Corton Charlemagne at a price most of us can still occasionally stretch to buy. I find CC a relatively good QPR even if, I can’t afford to own very many of them.
I don’t disagree what anything that you’ve said [about CCs being values compared to Chevys and Bastards], but you do realize that you’re out at a factor of TEN beyond what he was talking about, right?
If it were I, and if I wanted to drink quality California chardonnay at an affordable price, then I’d ditch the still wines altogether, and drink bubblies from Laetitia: