Volatize This: A Clean New World Chard

I don’t know about you, but I am rather dubious of inexpensive New World Chardonnays- oaked, un-oaked, whatever the method may be, if it’s not French and it’s under $10, I’m dubious. Call me narrow minded, call me unoriginal, I can’t help it. I am snobby about my Chard as a result of spending months in the Balthazar cellar with some really stellar French bottles. I was quickly schooled on the nuanced notes of white burgundy, the subtle and delicate balance of oak to fruit and the beautiful wet-stone and minerally terroir flavors that accompany a great white burgundy. It’s a tough act to follow.

All of this is not to say that New World Chards can’t be absolutely fantastic and show their own terroir quite nicely, I just find that in this low price range, it’s a tall order.

Hark. I came across this Washington State wine yesterday quite by accident. After taking the bebes to the Children’s Museum, I realized we were out of wine (and that just won’t do on a Tuesday night), so I ducked into a local “gourmet” deli with a pretty shotty wine selection. The pickins were slim and I was on a budget (home renovation priorities)- the odds were not in my favor. On a whim, I grabbed a ’12 Charles Smith Eve Chardonnay and decided to give it a go. I’ve seen its graphic logo before staring down at me from grocery store shelves, but never tasted it. The bebes were about to break it down so I grabbed the Columbia Valley Chard and we were outta there.

Here’s What I Got: 

The Verdict: Pleasantly surprising. Make no mistake, this is not mind-blowing bottle, but it’s zesty and zippy, medium-full bodied and really well-balanced. A good match with an Chinese or Thai take-out as it’s loaded with citrus, some lychee and a bit of spice. It’s rather tropical for a Chard but not overbearingly so, and boasts some nice acidity to boot. For $10 bucks, it’s a good call.

Charles Smith ’12 Eve Chardonnay, $10.

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