Give it a go! Part 3: Unoaked Chardonnay

I know Chardonnay is not the most popular of grape varieties at the moment but it is certainly worth trying some of the fablous unoaked options that are out there. If it was the heavy buttery texture and vanilla and honeyed notes which sent you fleeing from this wonderful grape have no fear there is little to none of those here. Oak aging, literally aging the chardonnay in oak barrels, to impart flavour and texture to the wine. In many cases however cheaper methods such as adding a large tea bag full of oak chips to the wine, the result was oceans of terrible cheap chardonnay.

The fight back has begun however, with many producers allowing chardonnay to express itself in all it's unoaked glory, this means the wine will not have come into contact with any oak and as a result is delightfully refreshing and fresh. If you have been thinking about giving chardonnay a second chance now is the time pick up a delectable unoaked Chardonnay.

Winery of Good Hope Chardonay 2008

The name is a bit naff, but the wine is a wonderful easy drinking style, 100% unoaked. It displays notes of citrus zest and has a delightful mineral tang, bedded in stone fruit flavours.

Yalumba Y-series Unwooded Chardonnay 2007

A full bodied and fruity wine, with notes of melon, pineapple and grapefruit flavours. A refreshing citrus acidity on the finish.

Domaine des Valanges, Macon Fuisse 2007

This stunning french wine is loaded with aromas of lemons and citrus fruits with a hint of hazelnut. Rich mouth feel of lemons and apples leading to a lively and refreshing finish. A wine for Pouilly-Fuisse lovers.

The Volvo Ocean Race

With the arrival of the boats from The Volvo Ocean Race we have decided to tie this posting in with the festivities that are happening around town. Two wines that have recently arrived all the way from South Africa like the Boats themselves are Winery of Good Hope’s Shiraz and Chardonnay. Both of these great wines come from South Africa and the winery shares its name with the Historical Cape of Good Hope, a point that the contestants in the Ocean Race sailed around last November after their second stop-over in Capetown.

The Winery of Good Hope, as the name suggests encompasses everything characteristic about the New South Africa. A diverse cultural and racial mosaic, combining indigenous South Africans with Northern and Southern Hemisphere adoptees - a blending of ideas, of values and of purpose. The Winery of Good Hope's distinctive wines originating from the most established vineyards of the Cape and wines from the most over-looked or undiscovered sites, the exciting cutting-edge micro-climates from previously ignored locations across the Cape. The Winery of Good Hope produces approachable, classy and elegant wines.Primed with Southern-Hemisphere fruit these are very affordable, highly drinkable, all occasion wines.

The Winery of Good Hope Chardonnay

This unoaked Chardonnay sets-out to give you an easy-drinking yet classy wine, at an excellent price. It has wonderful freshness, elegance and depth and no sickly-sweet or artificial flavours. The wonderful citrus zest and mineral tang of its aromatics and bedded in the fruit and seductive texture characteristic of good Chardonnay. For those of you who despairingly thought that Chardonnay had to taste like butterscotch, this will restore your faith in this wonderful grape, go on give it a try!.

The Winery of Good Hope Shiraz

This wine is fruit focused, generously constructed; with smooth layers of red fruits with some smoky oak nuances. It has a balanced style that promotes drinkability, but which releases flavour, spiciness, individuality, balance and freshness. This wine is a great crowd pleaser, it is suitable to have with a meal or to sip away as we wish the ‘Green dragon’ crew ‘go n-éirí an bóthar libh’ as they head off for Sweden.