Wine Club: six stunning alternatives to French Chardonnay

Poor Mrs Ray finally cracked. Ever the stoic, she paid no heed to the life-challenging heatwaves and associated power cuts. She disregarded the Covid that raged through her loved ones and took hours-long delays in and out of Gatwick with her usual eudaimonic tranquillity of mind.

The baggage chaos at Heathrow, the melting runway at Luton, the rail/barrister/postal strikes and prospect of our next PM being elected by less than a quarter of 1 per cent of the country; well, they barely registered. No, what finally did for my dear wife was seeing her favourite Mâcon-Lugny rise in price from £14 to almost £20. Her evening tipple priced out of reach was the final straw. She was quite undone.

Burgundy has suffered a couple of tricky/tiny vintages and prices are going through the roof. But all is not lost. There are some stunning, great-value, non-French alternatives and the following selection from Mr Wheeler did much to console the distraught Mrs R. I know they will please you too.

The 2019 Viña Errázuriz Aconcagua Costa Chardonnay (1) from Chile is astonishingly good value. Grapes from the cool Aconcagua Valley undergo a wild ferment in old oak before a touch of malolactic fermentation too – you know, where tart, apple-like malic acid is converted into creamy lactic acid. The result is a delight, full of juicy white peaches, melon, quince and lemony cream. It’s just so lovely. £12.95 down from £15.95.

The 2020 Bouchard Finlayson Crocodile’s Lair Chardonnay (2) from the sweet spot that is the Elandskloof Valley, tucked away in the Overberg Mountains of South Africa, is sleek and elegant. Thanks to the cool temperatures at 700m, fruit here ripens a month later than other Cape Chardonnays and the result is smooth, supple and restrained. There’s a touch of lemon curd plus apricot and a hint of honeyed toast on the long, satisfying finish. £16.45 down from £18.95.

The 2020 Esk Valley Artisanal Collection Chardonnay (3) from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, is a blend of two vineyard sites which combine, along with wild fermentation in oak and partial malo, to give a wine of surprising complexity. There is papaya, grapefruit, cream and vanilla with a hint of nuts and toast behind a slightly savoury finish. £16.95 down from £19.45.

I found the 2018 Poppy Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay (4) from California a trifle confected, but after giving it a swirl or two, I warmed to its exuberant, uncompromising, slightly quirky sun-drenched, ripe, tropical fruit. There are hints of banana, baked apple and raisins and creamy vanilla with lots of toasty oak. £17.95 down from £19.95.

The 2019 Robert Oatley Finisterre Chardonnay (5) from Margaret River, WA – a region which produces barely 4 per cent of Australia’s wines but at least 20 per cent of its premium wines – is extremely polished. A canny blend of three vineyard sites that spends time in new and old oak, it’s precise and elegant with nuts, melon, peach, citrus and toasty brioche in the mix. £19.95 down from £24.95.

I enjoyed the 2021 Zuccardi Poligonos San Pablo Chardonnay (6), from the Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina, with winemaker Sebastián Zuccardi and positively lapped it up. Fermented partly in concrete and partly in oak (no malo), it’s pure and focused, with soft, textured, delicately honeyed melon/quince fruit blessed with a vibrantly fresh finish. £20.95 down from £24.95.

Finally, for the most demanding of Chardonnay lovers, a Super Six (8) comprising two bottles each of the 2018 Résonance Hyland Vineyard Chardonnay, a stunner from Burgundian royalty, Louis Jadot, and the Maison’s adventure in Oregon; the 2017 Paul Cluver Seven Flags Chardonnay, a truly sophisticated expression from Elgin, South Africa; and the 2018 Viña Errázuriz Las Pizarras Chardonnay, an astonishingly complex and rewarding wine from the Aconcagua Valley, Chile. £259 down from £294.

The mixed case has two bottles each of wines 1-6 and delivery, as ever, is free.

Order today.