How can you soften an oaky white wine, like Chardonnay?

Dear Dr. Vinny,

I had a bottle of Chardonnay this evening and found the oak and vanilla too overpowering. It did have underlying fruit and acidity, but they were totally dominated by the oak. Did this wine require aging or aeration or something else that I missed? This has happened to me a couple of times now. Is there a way to soften an oaky wine?

—Yash, San Ramon, Calif.

Dear Yash,

First off, you might not like oaky Chardonnays—and it’s OK not to like oaky wines!

You might also want to do a little research just to make sure it’s the oak you aren’t a fan of. Most winery websites will have information on how their wines are made, including what kind of barrels (if any) were used.

Wines with a higher percentage of new oak (vs. used or “neutral” oak) and with smaller (vs. larger) barrels will have more oak influence. American oak barrels also have a reputation for imparting stronger vanilla or cream soda notes than French oak barrels. Keeping those factors in mind could be very helpful to you when seeking out new wines to enjoy. Another way to test whether it’s the oak you’re not liking would be to do a tasting of wines that are heavily oaked vs. wines with just a little oak vs. wines with no oak. 

If it’s not oak, you might be responding to something else—perhaps grapes grown in warmer climates or grapes picked later, or some other winemaking choice. Those winemaking characteristics would include wines that are bottled unfiltered or aged with extended lees contact. It’s also possible your Chardonnay was just a particularly spicy and creamy expression of the grape, perhaps from the specific clone that was used.

In any case, if a white wine seems out of balance, I would absolutely make sure it’s served properly chilled. When a white wine is served too warm, it can appear dulled or muted, and the alcohol can stick out. I also think the oak notes can come across as raw, overpowering and unpleasant. Most white wines show their best anywhere from about 40° to 50° F (or 5° to 10° C).

Some heavily oaked white wines, including white Burgundy and high quality New World Chardonnay, are certainly capable of improving with age. Ideally, the wine’s initial oak signature (which can be pretty hefty) will soften, mellow and integrate with the fruit and other aspects of the wine over time. (While some white wines can benefit from decanting, I don’t think aeration would have had much of an influence on the oak in the case of your wine.) It would certainly be worth aging a bottle of your offending wine for a few years, then tasting it again to see what you think!

—Dr. Vinny