An Acid Debate on the Making of Chardonnay

The Chardonnay grape is among the most delicately flavored in the world. Many other grape varieties can simply be fermented and bottled, but Chardonnay seems to require special treatments, such as aging in oak barrels, to maximize its flavors. Fortunately, the grape happens to be very responsive. Two wine makers harvesting Chardonnay grapes from the same field on the same day can come up with far different results.

In Santa Barbara County, one of the most exciting wine-growing regions in the state, wine makers met two weeks ago for an all-day symposium to discuss the methods for converting Chardonnay grapes into the complex product we have come to revere as California’s most popular premium white wine.

And after just the first two-hour session in this quaint Danish community, it was clear that the major debate hereabouts is whether or not to push the fermenting grape juice through a second fermentation, called the malolactic.

Malolactic fermentation, abbreviated ML by wine makers, is the technique by which the malic acid in grape juice is converted into the milder lactic acid, usually resulting in a softer wine. More importantly, the aroma of wine that goes through the ML differs greatly from a wine that does not.

Malic acid has a fresh, floral aroma reminiscent of citrus or apple. Before a Chardonnay goes through ML, it has this lively aroma. Malolactic fermentation changes the aroma to one related to milk--something buttery or creamy, often like burnt vanilla or caramel. It is this butteriness in Chardonnay, combined with the toastiness from aging the wine in French oak barrels, that has such appeal to many of today’s Chardonnay lovers.

Yet some of the most successful Chardonnays in California do not go through the ML procedure and have little of the butteriness some associate with great Chardonnay. Among the revered Chardonnays that do not undergo ML are those from Grgich Hills, Freemark Abbey, Stony Hill, Trefethen, Sinskey and Cain. (Examples of Chardonnays that typically do undergo a complete ML fermentation are Chalone, Saintsbury and Simi.)

At this symposium, ML was debated passionately. Fred Brander of Brander Winery and Rick Longoria of Gainey opposed it; Bob Lindquist of Qupe and Bryan Babcock of Babcock Winery desire 100% ML for their Chardonnays; Ken Brown of Byron and Bruce McGuire of Santa Barbara Winery believe that some lots of Chardonnay should undergo ML and other lots should not.

A tasting of wines from the region showed, however, that whatever technique is used, the abundant fruit of the Santa Barbara County soil has the power to show through. The leanest of the wines, 1988 Brander Chardonnay ($12), is crisp, delicately citrusy, with acid to imply the steeliness of Chablis. The 1988 Gainey ($16) had more spice and texture, yet still a compact center.

Slightly richer was the 1988 Byron Reserve ($16, September release), with noticeable oak and breadth on the palate and a crisp finish. The two biggest wines sampled by the 100 who attended the symposium were 1988 Babcock Grand Cuvee ($27.50, 420 cases produced) and the 1988 Qupe Reserve ($25, 460 cases). Both went through 100% ML.

The Babcock is remarkable, with a hint of the broad, creamy aroma you’d expect from an ML wine, but with a citrus and spice aroma reminiscent of Chassagne-Montrachet. The Qupe is even richer, with oak and buttery notes lightened with hints of spice and lemon oil.

Beside wines put through ML and those not put through it, there are occasional wines that simply refuse the second fermentation. A case in point: 1988 Firestone Chardonnay ($12). “It just wouldn’t go through the ML, no matter what I did,” said wine maker Allison Green, so she bottled it as is. The wine is marvelously complex, with a faint onionskin note hovering around grapefruit and spice flavors.

Panelists also spoke of other procedures to expand the flavors in Chardonnay. Most agreed that leaving the wine sur lie (in contact with the dead yeast cells in the barrel) can add layers of flavor, but that giving unfermented grape juice long contact with grape skins was not a benefit. As for barrel aging, the consensus was that the type of oak used is not as important as the length of time the wine is in the barrel.

One thing is clear in all this tinkering. The wine makers of Santa Barbara seem more willing to experiment, even to court disaster, in the pursuit of flavor and richness in their Chardonnays than wine makers in many other areas of the state, where the demand for consistency plays a much larger role.

Another conclusion, worth elaborating on later in more detail, is that the wines that did not undergo the ML procedure seemed to have better capacity to age in the bottle than those that did. We sampled a half dozen older wines brought by wine makers to show how they have aged. The best wines, still showing lively fruit, were those that hadn’t undergone a malolactic fermentation. Those that had seemed tired and uninteresting after a decade in the bottle.

Wine of the Week

Monterey Vineyard Classic Gamay Beaujolais ($6)--The perfect hot-weather red wine. Served chilled, this lovely wine complements a wide variety of summer dishes including pasta salads, cold poached fish, chicken breast and roast beef. The aroma is traditional cherry and raspberry, and there is a raciness rarely found in wines of this price.