Wine with Leslie: Three wines that prove Chardonnay’s versatility — including one for just €8.50

New World chardonnay was distinctly uncool for 20 years, but has bounced back, what happened?

Chardonnay is cool again, had you noticed? Of course chardonnay never went away given that it is the grape of white Burgundy. We still drank Chablis, Pouilly Fuissé and Puligny Montrachet, but New World chardonnay was distinctly uncool for 20 years.

Chardonnay is the most versatile of all wine grapes, it is bone dry and stony in Chablis, lush and layered in Meursault, elegant and austere in Jura and rounded and complex in Mendoza and Margaret River, so what happened?

Back in the early 1990s, wine sales were growing by more than branded vin de table Pedrotti, Partager and Piat d’Or and were seeking out ultra-ripe fruity chardonnays from brands like Jacob’s Creek and Wolf Blass. All those early chardonnays had oak contact, often simply oak chips used like a teabag, but then we abandoned them too. Familiarity had bred contempt, but more importantly, we wanted drier styles, light dry pinot grigio and of course sauvignon blanc, inexpensive lemon-fresh versions from Chile and intense grassy gooseberry flavoured ones from New Zealand.

We didn’t abandon Burgundy because Meursault and Mâcon-Lugny still had cachet. But New World ‘chardonnay’ struggled, the Aussies quickly introduced ‘unoaked’ versions but it was too late.

In short, we got over our bias because the chardonnays improved and adapted to our tastes. Look to Argentina (Salentein, Catena), South Africa (especially Stellenbosch), New Zealand (Greywacke), and Chile. But also look to Austria (e.g. Judith Beck), the Jura, Languedoc, Italy (Piedmont, Abruzzo, Sicily) and even Spain (try El Coto 875m). Here are three fine chardonnays from outside Burgundy.

Laurent Miquel Pére et Fils Chardonnay-Viognier, Languedoc, France, €8.50

I may actually be in one of the Lauren Miquel vineyards as you read this, I’ll tell you all about my visit in a couple of weeks.

This is 65% chardonnay and 35% viognier, the latter adding peach and apricot notes but with the chardonnay’s citrus, melon, and yellow apple providing the finesse, the structure, and the balance. Good luck finding a better chardonnay at this price.

• Dunnes Stores

Domaine Lafage Novellum Chardonnay, Roussillon, France, €20

This is new to the page, although I have featured Lafage Cadireta chardonnay before — it gets fermented on viognier lees for extra peachiness.

Novellum is the same juice as Cadiereta but with 30% barrel aged, just enough to add structure and fragrance. Peach and ripe melon fruit flavours with a stony vibrant streak of freshness piercing through — layered, crisp, and pleasing. Try with seafood or creamy pasta.

• JJ O’Driscolls; Mannings; Liquor Booth Mallow; Cass & Co; Baggot St; Redmonds

Jordan Chardonnay, Stellanbosch, South Africa €25-26

From a stunningly beautiful vineyard on a family-run estate in Stellenbosch.

Aromas of lemon oil and pear with touches of vanilla and butterscotch (from the oak); but on the palate this is clean and vibrant with ripe melon, rich citrus flavours, and a luscious mouth-filling character.

Try with roast pork or chicken or with fish in a creamy sauce.

• Bradleys; Matsons; World Wide Wines; Whelehans Wines; wineonline.ie

McLaughlin’s Own Ginger Beer, 0% Alcohol, 33cl, €4.85

I only feature exceptional non-alcoholic drinks in this slot and this qualifies. A finalist at Blás na hÉireann this weekend, this is handcrafted in the Knockmealdown mounatains and tastes great. Intense ginger aromas with pear and lime notes, tangy spicy, tongue-tingling and bracing on the palate, bone dry and complex. A soft drink for grown-ups, or for the best Moscow Mule ever.

• Ardkeen; Cass & Co.; Cove Stores; Seagull; SuperValu Dingle & Killaloe; Country Choice