Buttery Chardonnay?

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wladnagirl

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I am looking for a really big and buttery Chardonnay (or any white). Any advice would be greatly appreciated
 
Kendall-Jackson is like that now. (Which is why I quit drinking it.) About 10 years ago or so the wineries churning out chardonnay started doing barrel aging, which gives it that oaky buttery taste. It's hard to find a clean chardonnay anymore.
 
In descending order by price:

Rombauer
Mer Soleil
Newton
Belvedere
Toasted Head
Columbia Crest Grand Estates

The buttery flavor you enjoy is due to malolactic (or ML) fermentation malic acid is converted to lactic acid. Malic acid is tart, lactic acid is rich and buttery. Combined with oak aging, it creates the wine you like.

Increasingly, Chardonnay winemakers are going away from ML and oak, but the above wines have it in spades.
 
Virgin Vines (yes, the one apparently owned by Sir Richard Branson) makes a very nice Chard that's also quite reasonable. Should run you about $10.
 
Camelot Chardonnay is also very buttery, and it's not very expensive. But there is definite malolactic fermentation, which is what leads to the buttery taste. As someone above mentioned, the Kendall-Jackson is like that too. Also, Kenwood Chard was pretty buttery last time I had it.
 
Chalk Hill is one of my favorites but if you want to spend a little bit of money, my absolut #1 favorite is Far Niente. It is the epitome of "buttery". Happy drinking!
 
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