Does anyone else get a bitter aftertaste from Chardonnay?

[toxcrusadr]

Just wonderin'. About 9 bottles out of 10 have a bitter finish (or maybe post-finish) for me. Once in awhile I find one where it's totally absent but most of em I just don't like. Which is bad because you go to a party or a reception, everyone's drinking Chardonnay. I like it right up to that point but I just can't handle the aftertaste. While I am relatively sensitive to bitter tastes, I have a very eclectic palate and I enjoy many types of wines.

Anybody else have this problem with the country's most popular white? :yuck:

[shrinkboy]

are we talkin cheap stuff, or good stuff? also, french oak barrel or stainless steel, a la australia?

[Reel 2 Reel]

I have found that most wines have a dry aftertaste...which is OK..but I tend to lean towards the sweeter wines which dont have much of an aftertaste...that is, of course, if you don't over do it... :yes:

If that happens, then you get the worst aftertaste of them all!!..... :puke:

I love my Mad Dog!....and I dont over do it...I have come close many times...but ... :thmbsp:

[botrytis]

Well, most chardonnay's are oaked pretty heavily. I think that is what you are tasting. There is a new trend to make un-oaked or lightly oaked ones - I would try those (especially from France - they are really nice).

Dave

[RichPA]

Anybody else have this problem with the country's most popular white? :yuck:

To quote a friend of mine, life is too short for white wine. :)

Rich (Cabernet/Shiraz/etc. fan)

[Reel 2 Reel]

Mmmmmmmmm Ripple!....

Instaed of grapes...they use 'pears'......

I think I will join you...I'm gonna find me a bottle of ripple...and I will drink a toast to ya!!!!.... :banana:

[yamahammer]

TANNIC ACID IS THE culprit

[Cloth Ears]

My guess would be the oak - although I tend to describe it as the 'turpentine flavour'. It can occur in both cheap and expensive Chardies, and is simply over-oaking. In cheaper versions, you generally get more of a sap taste, in more expensive versions it's more of a dry woody flavour.

I avoided chardonnay completely until they started bringing out the un-wooded (un-oaked) varieties. IMHO, the wine made from the grape tastes quite nice, but the oaking went over the top as the makers here in Aus chased the dollar, rather than the flavour. Aging did not improve the wood taste - although it did seem to improve the ability of the wine to age. At one stage, I think it was about 80% of all white sold in Aus were chardonnays - which meant that us reisling/gt drinkers got some great deals :naughty: :naughty: .

N.B I would always prefer a nice Cab-Sauv - love that red cordial :D

[toxcrusadr]

I usually don't mind some oak in a wine, but for some reason, with the chardonnays it's quite bitter at the end. [Sam] I like cab sauv but of course it's red and difficult to compare. I rarely get the bitter thing with anything else. Maybe the reds camoflage it better due to their higher overall flavor body.

Definitely tannins, I'm a bit of a home winemaker myself. Just haven't figured out why it's more common with the Chards. Maybe they use the fresh barrels on it, and then reuse them on the other wines! :lmao:

[Cloth Ears]

From http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Chardonnay:
Many producers of chardonnay went a bit overboard with oak in the last 20 years or so. The mantra "wood is good" could be heard in young wineries around the world. These wines were given so much oak treatment that they began to taste little of grapes and more of trees. This practice has caused a minor backlash in the last 10 years. A popular new style is un-wooded, or un-oaked chardonnay. These wines are made with no oak influence at all, and produce subtle, fresh and somewhat simple wines that are easy to drink. All great chardonnays however, will spend some time in oak - it is just a matter of getting the balance right.
Tannin is not something generally associated with whites, as it is introduced by leaving the skins in the must to impart (generally) the red colour to the wine. Chardonnay is mostly pressed and only the juice and pulp collected (the skins and stalks remain outof the mix). I don't think that the oak barrels actually add tannin, but malic acid is created during the process of fermentation. Introducing a bacteria near the end of fermentation (malolactic fermentation, I believe) converts this to lactic acid - giving what is termed a "buttery flavour".

My guess is that what you're finding is over-oaking, maybe excessive malic acid, or possibly cheap oaking (which is done by putting planks of oak into the stainless steel barrels used for "aging" in some wineries).

Go un-oaked, you'll never look back!

All IMHO, of course!!

[wineslob]

Or, stay away from Chards, and go with a good Sav. Blanc. Much better wine IMO, if done well. Is the bitterness similar to a smokieness? It could be the "toast" used with the barrels, IE; Toasted Head chard. I would also reccomend the French chards, as they dont have such a heavy hand as they do here in the states, using oak to cover up a crappy wine.

[wineslob]

I'll throw this out there for some here in the states to look for (in Ca.). P K N T Sauv. Blanc. Made in Chile, and has showed up at my local Grocery Outlet. Sells for $3.99 and is a excellent wine for the money, actually its better than some Sav. that I've paid $15 for!

[toxcrusadr]

I do like Sauv. Blanc. Good stuff. I have no shortage of wines i like to drink (including my own dry Persimmon Mead - but that 's another thread).

Mmmmm, Pinot Grigio....

[fabvsix]

I currently have 120 bottles of wine in my house. I live in Wine country of Northern California.
Chards can be "young to oakey". Chards that are young are referred to as "green". I don't care for them. I like the oak chards that are good. Some good some not. You have to know which REGION produces good buttery chards.....Perhaps you should try a good 2004 Anderson Valley Gewurztraminer or one from Southern California (Temecula). Again you have to know which REGION produces the good stuff. All wineries will tell you "all their wines are good". NOT SO ! Only about 3 places that produce a GOOD Pinot Nior. Some regions produce an excellent Zin like Paso Robles, Lodi, Livermore California. Everyone and their mother makes Pinot Noir in Oregon and Washington state. Only 3 produce really GOOD ones......Roshambo produces excellent summers wines known as ROSE' or Syhrah's. My advise is to find Local mom and pop's or boutique wineries and AVOID the big overrated big guys in Napa and Sonoma. Russian River produces excellent wines too ! My cousins husband is a 5th generation Californian born and raised in Long Beach. Rare indeed. Anyway he is a wine expert. His rule of thumb: NEVER SPEND MORE THAT $15 DOLLARS ON A BOTTLE OF WINE OR YOUR GETTING RIPPED OFF ! Also drink lots of water while drinking your wine to AVOID nasty TANNIN hang overs !
Chow for now.....

[wineslob]

Fab, i would agree on not many good Pinot's being made in CA. OR, or WA. I too found most to be over-priced and rather thin and weedy. However trying to find really good wine under 15 bucks is a quite a chore. I used to do my own reviews/webpage as Wineslob. I think its still up at 50 megs.com, but I havent updated it in 3 years. I specialized in reviewing "cheap" wine. It can be done, but you have to kiss alot of frogs to get to the rare "princess" (not prince! :) ) I have offered to post some inexpensive wines here as I find them, just havent found any yet! (worth drinking) Unfortunately I find that price does = better wine, and it seems that $20 is the "starting point" though I dont like all the "Me too!" wineries sprouting up all over the place with $35 cabs that are frankly only worth about $10-15. UH OH! I need to retract not finding any good cheap wine! Try finding a 2000 Concannon Petit Sirah. I found some at the venerable Food Outlet for $3.99 and it kicks butt. I dont have any notes in front of me, but trust me, this wine really outshines its price.

[fabvsix]

Wineslob:
Here is an example: Recotte 2004 "La Vieille Ferme" Cotes du Ventoux Rose: $4.99 a bottle at Cost Plus.......excellent by the way and CHEAP ! :banana:

[wineslob]

Fab, the Cotes du Rhone they produce is also, on average, a very good wine for the money! I'll look for the Rose. Thx! BTW I'm farther "north" than you. (chico area) :)