WTN: Chardonnay and PINEAPPLE?

Tasted last night at WineStyles Tuesday Night Tasting: 2005 Clos La Chance (Central Coast) Hummingbird Series Chardonnay. $17.00.

I liked this. 100% steel-no oak. Nice color of straw gold. Rich, creamy, without being heavy. What hit my palette was a distinct "pineapple" flavor, which I found intriguing and interesting. There was also citrus and other tropical fruits. Richer than some of the other steel chardonnays I've tried, and not very complex on the finish, but enjoyable in it's own way. **1/2

Brian, I find that Central Coast chards, and especially Monterey County chards to feature tropical fruit on both the nose and the Palate. Add in some oak and they mostly go overboard for me. I don't drink a lot of chard, but I do like the Travis chardonnay, even though it is a Monterey County product. I probably should search out more "unoaked" cali chards and try them.

Chardonnay flavors are very dependent on the climate. Cool climates produce the apple and green plum flavors, with lots of acidity.

Warm region chardonnay shows more of the citrusy notes, whereas hot climates lean towards the peach, melon and tropical fruit flavors and lower acidity.

I'm not much of a chardonnay fan, but prefer the Chablis style if I have a choice.

Brian,
I find that pineapple flavors are quite common in Chardonnays and Pinot Gris from CA and OR that haven't been overoaked. Since I happen to love ripe pinepapple, I am not at all unhappy with that state of affairs, either. As others have said, these same grapes in cooler climates will veer more to the citrus side of the spectrum.

Mark Lipton

Brian,
Last evening at our neighborhood get together, several good wines were served. Amongst them, I tasted 7 Heavenly Chard (from Lodi) and one of the first things that jumped into my mind was - pineapple!!

Brian:
As Bob and Mark have already pointed out, CA Central Coast Chards, which are generally cooler climate growing areas which also have an edtended hang time for fruit, are pretty reliable in producing the pineapple/tropical aromas and flavors. Specifically, Monterey is the one spot that does it most often, for me. I also get distinct banana notes from some Monterey Chards, btw.

When those Chards are overdone with wood, it usually represses the tropical fruit, and you can end up with some mucky butterscotch kinda stuff...but many of the Monterey/Central Coast producers have figured that out (and the public has helped them with feedback ), so we're seeing less of that sort of egregious mistreatment.