CHARDONNAY: From ABC to New Wave

Anything But Chardonnay or Chardonnay Buy Approbation?! Tasting New Wave Chardonnays

Support me on my PATREON: https://patreon.com/konstantinbaum

Follow me on ...:
https://www.instagram.com/konstantinbaum_mw/
https://www.threads.net/@konstantinbaum_mw
https://www.tiktok.com/@konstantinbaum_mw

Check out my website:
https://www.konstantinbaum.com/
https://baumselection.com/

I use this wine key: Forge de Laguiole Ebony
I have used this glass in this Video: Riedel Performance Chardonnay
I have tasted the following wines in this Video:

2022 Moritz Kissinger Chardonnay, Rheinhessen, Germany
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/moritz+kissinger+chard+rheinhessen+germany/2022?referring_site=KSB

2023 Ochota Barrels 'The Slint Vineyard' Chardonnay, South Australia
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/ochota+barrel+the+slint+chard+south+australia/2023?referring_site=KSB

2023 Crystallum The Agnes Chardonnay, Western Cape, South Africa
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/crystallum+the+agnes+chard+western+cape+south+africa/2023?referring_site=KSB

2022 Patrick Piuze Chablis Coteau de Fontenay, Burgundy, France
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/patrick+piuze+coteaux+de+fontenay+chablis+burgundy+france/2022?referring_site=KSB

2021 Matias Riccitelli Vineyard Selection Vinedo de Montana Chardonnay, Gualtallary, Argentina
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/matias+riccitelli+select+vinedo+de+montana+chard+gualtallary+tupungato+uco+valley+mendoza+argentina/2021?referring_site=KSB

2020 Sandhi Sta Rita Hills Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/sandhi+chard+barbara+county+santa+rita+hill+central+coast+california+usa/2020?referring_site=KSB

The 100 Point Scoring System (from www.robertparker.com):
96-100: An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase and consume.
90 - 95: An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines.
80 - 89: A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws.
70 - 79: An average wine with little distinction except that it is soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.
60 - 69: A below-average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor or possibly dirty aromas or flavors.
50 - 59: A wine deemed to be unacceptable.

It is one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. The best wines are costly, and it is capable of capturing the elusive terroir of a place, transmitting it into the glass. Chardonnay was first discovered in Burgundy, where its name rarely appears on the label. Since the 1980s it conquered the world with plantings increasing almost 10fold and today it is planted on roughly 210.000 hectares — more than twice all the German vineyard surface area.
The boom also caused problems for Chardonnay as more and more wine experts, Sommeliers, and wine drinkers started to look elsewhere for other varietals rather than ordering yet another Chardonnay. There is a well-known acronym for the movement; ABC - ‘Anything But Chardonnay. At that point, Chardonnay had become a brand, and many Chardonnays were manipulated in a heavy-handed fashion at the winery with a lot of new oak, alcohol, and power.
However, the variety is capable of producing outstanding wines, and as every movement has a countermovement new wave Chardonnays today show more freshness, less oak, and are made in a generally more hands-off approach. Leon has selected some New Wave Chardonnays – Anti ABC wines – for me to taste and explore. So let's dive in!