Published: Wednesday, Mar. 04, 2009

Updated: Wednesday, Mar. 04, 2009

Chardonnays turn buttery during process

In contrast to the style of the Sterling Vineyard’s 2007 Vintner’s Collection Chardonnay that was the highlight of last week’s column, I tasted the 2007 Souverain Chardonnay Alexander Valley and the 2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay side by side.

Both of these Chardonnays are more traditional in the sense that they are very buttery and creamy because during the winemaking process, 100 percent of these wines went into a secondary fermentation, commonly referred to as malolactic fermentation.

Although malolactic fermentation may occur naturally during the aging process of wine in oak barrels, most winemakers introduce a bacterial culture, which they can control, into the oak barrel causing the tart tasting malic acid to be converted to a much softer tasting lactic acid. Typically, it is fairly easy to determine by taste alone whether a Chardonnay went through this secondary fermentation because the wine will be more toasty, oaky and buttery.

These wines were recently reviewed by Wine Spectator with the 2007 Souverain Chardonnay Alexander Valley receiving a 90 point rating, while the 2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay received an 89 rating. Both of these wines retail around $18 and can be found in area wine and liquor stores. I was unable to find them in a grocery store, but the Souverain is usually popular with restaurants.

The 2007 Souverain was produced from grapes grown in the Alexander Valley region of Sonoma County, Calif. The winemaker chose the grapes that were used to produce this wine from a cooler section of the valley because that type of climate intensifies the grapes fruit flavors. I could detect aromas of both pear and apple, and this chardonnay is full bodied, with a very rich creamy, buttery finish.

The 2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay was produced from grapes grown throughout the Wahluke Slope appellation of Washington. Wahluke Slope is north of the Yakima Valley in one of the state’s warmest growing regions. While the days may be warm, the nights are quite cool. Again, as with the climate of the grapes in the Souverain, the cool nights allow the flavors to intensify.

This wine is well made and had notes of citrus as well as a nutty aroma, reminiscent of almond. Like the 2007 Souverain, the finish was rich, creamy and buttery. Of these two wines, I believe that the Chateau Ste. Michelle was more balanced and structured, having a broader range of flavors. Both wines were quite rich and sitting side by side in the glass, they were almost exactly the same color.

I paired both of these wines with freshly caught flounder that was baked in a lemon butter sauce along with rosemary roasted red potatoes. Both wines held up quite well against the meal, except I think that the sauce on the fish contained a little too much butter and may have made the wine taste more mellow on the finish than it tasted prior to taking the first bite of the meal. I have found that it is very important to cleanse the palate with water and/or a wafer before tasting the wine for the first time.

Both of the wines reviewed are top notch efforts for chardonnays, especially in this price range. If you like a chardonnay that is buttery, you can’t go wrong with either of these wines. Overall, I favored the Sterling Chardonnay reviewed last week over either of these two wines, but it should be noted that I am not a fan of the toast, oak and butter that follow after a Chardonnay undergoes 100 percent malolactic fermentation.