Chardonnay remains the chameleon of grapes, infinitely malleable depending upon where the grapes are grown, when they're picked and how they're made into wine.
Winemakers love that. Just look at the varying ways in which they treat chardonnay and how differently it comes out.
California's Stonestreet 2005 ''Upper Barn'' Chardonnay, from grapes picked at 1,800 feet in the Mayacamas Mountains, takes crispness from the altitude and the cool influence of the nearby Pacific. It gets richness and opulence from being fermented and aged in oak barrels.
One-third of a world away, Tormaresca's 2006 Chardonnay is made of grapes from the Puglia region in Italy's boot, in temperatures moderated by the nearby Aegean Sea. It gets much less oak aging, spending most of its fermenting and aging time in stainless steel tanks.
Even farther away, in South Eastern Australia, McWilliams' Hanwood Estates chardonnay is grown in warm weather, harvested at night to preserve the acids that give it crispness, and fermented partly in stainless steel, partly in oak barrels.
Back in California, another sharp contrast: Monterey County winemakers are picking up on a trend begun in New Zealand by making an ''un-oaked'' chardonnay fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel tanks.
At California's Rodney Strong Vineyards, winemaker Rick Sayre and colleagues have created a ''winery within a winery'' to give special attention to small lots of grapes identified by vineyard managers as their best. They are fermented and aged separately, then selected and blended just before bottling.
In all, it's probably true to say that no other grape, white or red, comes from such different areas, receives such different treatment and turns out so differently.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
• 2005 Stonestreet ''Upper Barn'' Chardonnay, Alexander Valley: aromas of oak and ripe peaches; lush flavors of peaches and butter, with soft acids and creamy body; $40.
• 2005 Rodney Strong Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County: aromas of cedar and apple pie; rich, opulent and crisp; $30.
RECOMMENDED
• 2005 Frei Brothers Reserve Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Russian River Valley: lean and crisp; aromas of oak; intense; rich flavors of lemons and limes, $20.
• 2006 Cartlidge & Browne Chardonnay, California: aromas of camellias; flavors of white peaches, vanilla and cloves; creamy; $13.
• 2005 Stonestreet 'Red Point' Chardonnay, Alexander Valley: oak aromas; flavors of apricots and minerals; crisp and firm; $35.
• 2006 Tormaresca Chardonnay, Puglia IGT, Italy: aromas and flavors of green apples and lemons; light and crisp; an excellent shellfish wine; $10.
• 2005 California's Jewel Un-Oaked Chardonnay, Monterey: light, bright, crisp and lively, with green apple and green melon flavors; $10.
• 2006 Rodney Strong Vineyards Chardonnay, Sonoma County: lively and crisp; green pears and cinnamon; $15.
• 2006 McWilliams Hanwood Estate Chardonnay, South Eastern Australia: oak and green melon aromas and flavors; crisp and full-bodied; $12.
