Some drinks will forever be associated with a time and place. It's hard for me to pour a glass of bourbon without imagining myself in Jazz Age America, or a scotch on the rocks without thinking I'm a Don Draper figure in early 1960s New York. And no gently nostalgic documentary about 70s Britain is complete without a jokey reference to Watneys Party Sevens or Blue Nun.
I've no doubt that chardonnay will be the liquid representative of our age. Glossy, rich and loud in flavour, it was as closely identified with the 90s and early 2000s as Britpop, Blair and Bridget Jones (who, of course, drank it by the bucketload). The gaudy, golden accompaniment to a million conversations about rising house prices, it came to dominate sales of white wine, its cultural reach so profound that it briefly became a popular girls' name.
The UK was not alone in falling for chardonnay. By the mid-90s, chardonnay had become the second most widely planted white grape in the world (even today, only the low-quality Spanish bulk wine grape, airén, beats it) as growers in every wine-producing country ripped out local varieties to make room for it. By and large they were attempting to make wines in the same style as the Australians and Californians who had done so well out of the variety – a kind of white burgundy-on-steroids based on super-ripe tropical fruit, oak (either from barrels or the addition of oak chips) and the buttery notes and texture associated with malolactic fermentation, a winemaking process that converts the tart malic acid into softer lactic acid.
For many people this style has come to represent all that chardonnay can be. And that caricature no longer fits with drinking fashions. According to the market researchers Nielsen, sales of chardonnay have stagnated. We now spend more on the livelier, or at least unoaked, sauvignon blanc, while neutral pinot grigio, growing at a remarkable 18% a year, could usurp both in the near future.
The sad thing about all this, however, is that the stereotypical chardonnay is largely a thing of the past. Chardonnay producers around the world are now much more likely to emphasise freshness and use oak with restraint or not at all. As Tesco wine buyer James Griswood puts it: "We have certainly seen a move towards fresher, lighter, more "zippy" styles of white wines and we've adjusted our range of chardonnays accordingly."
Nowhere has this trend been more pronounced than in Australia, which accounts for around half of all the chardonnay we drink in the UK. The best of their chardonnay producers – Giaconda, Leeuwin Estate, Yabby Lake, Yarra Yering, Pierro and Mount Mary in cooler climate spots like Victoria and Margaret River – have for some time been a match for the best examples from Burgundy. But even mainstream brands and supermarket labels are now (with some exceptions) less like clumsy sawdust-and-pineapple cocktails than they once were. Much the same can be said about California and Chile, while New Zealand's chardonnays are often more impressive than their sauvignon blancs.
Indeed, chardonnay – the ingredient of white burgundy and an important part of the blend of most champagnes – is responsible for a disproportionate amount of the world's finest whites. It's time to reconsider this great grape – and not simply out of nostalgia for our recent past.
Six great chardonnays
Veranza Chardonnay, Vino de la Tierra, Spain 2010
(£6.50, The Vintner; £6.43, Bablake Wines)
Spanish chardonnay? Well, why not when it's as exuberantly fresh and fruity as this. Unoaked, it's all about the youthful guava and mango fruit flavours. Perfect for an afternoon party.
Asda Extra Special Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
(£8.67, Asda)
The rolling countryside of the Adelaide Hills has a distinctly European feel and climate, and so do many of the wines made there. This is great value for its combination of restrained toasty flavours and zingy tropical fruitiness.
Encantado by Tabali Chardonnay Reserva, Limarí Valley, Chile 2011
(£8.99, Tesco)
The Limarí Valley would be crazy hot were it not for the air-conditioning that blows up the valley from the Pacific. That influence can be felt in the almost edgy, cooling acidity that underpins this judiciously oaked, weighty but elegant Chilean white.
Domaine de Château de Puligny-Montrachet Clos de Château Bourgogne Blanc, Burgundy, France 2008
(£22, Berry Bros & Rudd)
From one of Burgundy's most improved old estates, this is certainly no ordinary Bourgogne Blanc. Boldly sunny and fruity, it has an addictive citrus pith tang. Drink with a buttery roast chicken.
Yabby Lake Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia 2008
(£26, Swig)
The Mornington Peninsula in Victoria is one of Australia's hot, cool-climate spots for Burgundian varieties pinot noir and chardonnay, and Yabby Lake is one of the finest exponents of both. This is beautifully made: exceptionally pure with a mouthwateringly citrus-and-mineral-fired palate.
Champagne Delamotte Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, France 2002
(£39.99, Corney & Barrow)
Champagne Delamotte is part of the same company behind the famed (and prohibitively expensive) Salon, and it shows. This 100% chardonnay is simply glorious: rich but beautifully balanced by its nervy acidity and silk-textured fizz.
