International Chardonnay Day: 12 best wines to sip

Best: Overall

Rating: 10/10

This is quite extraordinary. Piedmont, in northern Italy, is most known for its famous red wines, usually made from the nebbiolo grape, so planting chardonnay here is something of a risk. But boy has it paid off, even if the result is distinctly unlike a classic chardonnay. This is fabulously rich and full-bodied, with some nutty, seriously spicy notes underpinning layers of ripe orchard fruit flavours, cut through with marvellous acidity that keeps just enough freshness on the palate. Complex and interesting and grown-up. The perfect dinner party wine for herby roast chicken, a big joint of roast pork or even a spicy vegetable tagine.

Best: Budget buy

Rating: 8/10

While Chablis and the rest of Burgundy are at the epicentre of French chardonnay, there are terrific and less costly wines made from the grape to be found in the south of France – particularly in the Languedoc region where Laurent Miquel is a highly reliable producer of well-priced blended and single varietal wines. This is a lovely light, mineral, citrus and orchard fruit inflected wine that is ideal to keep in the fridge for that after-work glass or for summer parties and gatherings of all kinds. Sold as a case of six, making it £9 per bottle.

Best: For oysters and seafood

Rating: 10/10

The fossilised shells of oysters are found in the chalky soils of the Chablis region, in the northern part of Burgundy, which are the remains of ancient sea beds and which help give the wines from the region their distinctive clean, mineral flavour, with hints of salinity and lemon and a crisp, flinty, freshness on the palate. Premier cru chablis can command quite high prices, so this bottle from a less well-known appellation delivers terrific value for money and carries all those characteristics with considerable style. A bottle for a summer day, a plate of fresh oysters or fruits de mer,  and, if you can manage it, a sea view.

Best: Burgundy bargain

Rating: 9/10

The white wines of the greater Burgundy region are so numerous and diverse that selecting individual bottles is difficult. This is home to some of the most renowned appellations such as Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, which often attract very high prices. The secret to finding affordable but great white Burgundy is to look for wines from areas that border the big names, such as Auxey Duresses, a commune in the Cote-d’Or that is close by fabled Meursault and from where this fabulous wine, comes: the grapes are hand-harvested and aged in oak, resulting in a wine of complexity and character, with flavours of citrus, some honeysuckle and light brioches touches. A sophisticated special occasion wine.

Best: Greek wine

Rating: 9/10

Aldi is a fabulous source of bargain bottles, normally everyday wines that deliver great value for money – but here we have a chardonnay from a high altitude single vineyard in the Macedonia region of northern Greece that is every bit as serious as the great names of chardonnay elsewhere and shows the revival in Greek winemaking is not just about the local varieties. This is a big wine: textured, weighty, spicy, packed with ripe fruit flavours and equal in quality of wines twice the price and certainly would not disgrace a dinner party. A great match for big fish dishes or lightly spiced oriental foods.

Best: Aperitif

Rating: 8/10

Just a few years ago, Australian chardonnay was dominated by the over-oaked typed that sacrificed subtlety and flavour for alcoholic punch. Those wines are still out there – probably in your local corner shop – but this is representative of the best that Oz can offer, from the cooler climate region of the Adelaide Hills, it has an almost Chablis-like clean and mineral nature with refreshing, youthful, apricot, peach and citrus flavours. A wonderful wine to liven the palate before dinner although it would still be a great match for lighter fish dishes.

Best: Luxury buy

Rating: 8/10

Yes, it is very pricey, but it’s worth every pound – and will certainly impress your guests, if you can bear to share it. This limited edition Argentine wine is made by the remarkable Catena family from just a small part of their Adrianna Vineyard, which lies at around 1,400m above sea level in the Andes foothills, in the Tupungata region of Mendoza and named after the white stones which dot the rocky soils. Unfined and unfiltered, it has been aged in old French oak barrels. Those stony soils deliver precise minerality, while the ageing brings in rich orchard fruit flavours. A complex and deeply satisfying wine for a very special occasion.

Best: English wine

Rating: 8/10

Huge amounts of chardonnay grapes have been planted around southern England as part of the extraordinary explosion in domestic sparkling wine and it was only a matter of time – and the acquisition of the right expertise – before they began to be used for still wines. The Kit’s Coty is a single vineyard on the North Downs of Kent that is part of one of the most long-established English wine estates and this exceptional wine is excitingly rich and full-bodied, with nutty, buttery flavours and a long finish. A perfect wine for your summer dinner party and a tribute to the skills of our own winemakers.

Best: New Zealand wine

Rating: 7/10

New Zealand is most well known, of course, for re-inventing that other staple white grape of central France, sauvignon blanc. And the Kiwis have also produced their own version of other European grapes like riesling, pinot gris and chardonnay, as well as their own excellent pinot noir, also from Burgundy. This chardonnay comes from a boutique winery in the Waipara Valley with grapes drawn from three vineyards grown to biodynamic principles. This has glorious, intense creamy passionfruit and peach flavours, hints of citrus and nuts and is full bodied with a long finish. A real food wine, so match it with salmon and other fish dishes or roast white meats. But also suitable for vegan dishes.

Best: Californian wine

Rating: 9/10

The Russian River Valley sits in the heart of the wonderful Sonoma area in California, where cool coastal breezes and regular fogs balance the warm days and help create perfect conditions for cool climate grapes like chardonnay. From an upmarket boutique winery and made by head winemaker Nicole Hitchcock, this is a complex, substantial wine, with layers of creamy, nutty, sometimes toasty flavours, some lively acidity and notes of pear, baked apple and vanilla all mingling on the palate, leading to a long finish. The vineyard specialises in linking wine with food, with guest chefs preparing bespoke menus, so this is a wine for serious fish dishes, medium strength cheeses and white meats.

Best: Australian wine

Rating: 8/10

Recently voted “best in show chardonnay” in the London Wine Competition, this exceptional, limited release wine from Australia’s is therefore selling out fast. The vineyard, in the Orange region of New South Wales, is a family affair where vines were only planted in 1994 and it’s Australia’s only carbon neutral winery. This subtle complex, sophisticated wine combines the best of old and New World styles, with nutty, spicy notes, shot through with intense lemon and grapefruit flavours and a balancing creamy acidity that beguiles the palate.

Best: Chilean wine

Rating: 10/10

The remote Atacama desert in northern Chile is also probably the most challenging place on the planet to grow grapes. One of the driest places in the world, it has deeply saline chalky soils, the nights are cold and the region is enveloped daily by swirling fogs. And yet this is a challenge taken on by Vina Ventisquero with remarkable results. The combination of relatively low daytime temperatures and the mineral soils deliver wines of great character and purity: this chardonnay delivers amazing, taught purity of fruit and a chalky minerality that is closer to Chablis than, say, a traditionally oaky new world wine. Unfilitered, unfined, made with natural yeasts and therefore a little cloudy in the glass, this is a truly individual wine to savour and a fantastic conversation piece.