Loads of people have been on at me for ages asking for a Bread and Butter Chardonnay review. Have I tried it, do I like it, what do I think of it, is it actually any good? And for some reason I had never got round to buying a bottle until a couple of weeks ago, then I tried it again about three minutes before filming this because I wanted to make sure the first glass had not somehow flattered it.
It has got a bit of a cult following, especially with people who like that richer, oaked style of Chardonnay, and I can see why. I picked this bottle up from Majestic for about £15 or £16, and if you like California Chardonnay with plenty of oak, this could very easily be your guy.
The interesting thing with Chardonnay is that people often say they do not like the grape when what they really mean is they do not like one particular style of it, because winemakers can take Chardonnay in completely different directions depending on where it is grown and what they do with it afterwards.
Why Bread and Butter Chardonnay Tastes So Different
Bread and Butter comes from California, and when you are talking about California Chardonnay you are often talking about a much richer style than you would find in something like an unoaked white Burgundy.
That is the comparison I like to make because it shows just how flexible Chardonnay actually is. At one end you have a wine where the fruit and freshness are doing most of the talking, while at the other you have something like Bread and Butter where oak plays a much bigger role and gives the wine that soft, smooth, almost creamy character people either absolutely love or cannot stand.
The oak brings in those secondary flavours that Chardonnay itself does not naturally give you, so instead of just getting fruit you start picking up things like vanilla and that slightly buttery, rounded feeling in the mouth. When it is done well, it can feel almost like a warm blanket around the wine, which sounds a bit ridiculous until you taste one and realise exactly what I mean.
The problem is that Chardonnay got absolutely battered in the 1980s and 1990s because there was so much cheap, heavily oaked stuff around that people started deciding the grape itself was the problem. That is where the whole “ABC, anything but Chardonnay” thing came from, and I still meet loads of people at tastings who tell me they do not drink Chardonnay before discovering that they actually like it when we give them a style that suits them.
Is Oaked Chardonnay Always Heavy?
No, and Bread and Butter is a really good example of why that assumption does not always work.
This wine definitely has oak, and you can smell it straight away, but it is not completely drowning everything else. There is still fruit underneath it and enough freshness to stop it becoming thick or sickly, which is exactly what you want from this style.
The balance is the important bit for me because anyone can throw a wine into oak and make it taste woody, but getting that vanilla character without losing the fruit underneath takes a bit more care. Bread and Butter manages that pretty well, especially considering the price.
How I Serve It
I took this out of the fridge about 15 minutes before drinking it because I do not want a wine like this absolutely freezing cold.
If you serve it at six or seven degrees, all of those lovely smells and flavours start disappearing, so I would rather let it come up closer to ten or eleven degrees and give the wine a chance to open up properly.
You do not need to stand there with a thermometer, obviously. Just take it out of the fridge while you are sorting dinner or getting the glasses ready, leave it for a little while, then pour it.
That small difference in temperature makes a bigger difference than people think, especially with a wine that has this much going on.
What Does Bread and Butter Chardonnay Smell Like?
This one surprised me slightly because Chardonnay does not always leap out of the glass aromatically, but Bread and Butter definitely does.
The first thing I get is that big vanilla character from the oak, then underneath that there is ripe stone fruit and a more tropical edge, which makes sense when you remember that California is warm and the grapes have had plenty of sunshine to ripen properly.
I get a bit of banana and pineapple in there as well, although the thing that really ties it all together is that buttery, smooth vanilla character. It is not subtle, and it is not pretending to be, but I do not think it is overdone either.
If you like this style, you are going to smell it and know almost immediately that you are in the right place.
Bread and Butter Chardonnay Review What Does It Taste Like?
The first thing I noticed was how smooth it is.
There is plenty of flavour, but it does not feel harsh or clumsy, and the oak gives it that rounded texture without wiping out everything else underneath. You still get enough acidity coming through to keep the wine fresh, which is really important because otherwise this style can become tiring very quickly.
That is also where I think Bread and Butter separates itself from some cheaper Californian Chardonnays. Some mass-market wines use more residual sugar to make them immediately easy to drink, which can work for people who like that style, but it can also make the wine feel heavy after a glass or two.
Bread and Butter does not give me that same sweet, sticky feeling. It still feels rich, but there is enough acidity there to keep bringing you back for another sip, and that is what makes it feel much more like a proper wine rather than something designed simply to taste easy.
For £15 or £16, I think it offers pretty decent value.
Is Bread and Butter Chardonnay Like White Burgundy?
Not really, and that is the whole point.
If you normally drink a leaner, fresher style of Chardonnay from Burgundy, Bread and Butter might feel completely different because the oak is much more obvious and the fruit is riper.
That does not mean one style is better than the other, it just means they are doing different things.
Personally, I like both, and my wife does as well, so we are quite happy opening either depending on what we are eating and what sort of mood we are in. If you are someone who says you do not like Chardonnay, I would actually encourage you to try both styles side by side because that is probably the easiest way to work out what you really dislike.
You might discover it is not Chardonnay at all, it is simply one particular way of making it.
What Food Goes With Bread and Butter Chardonnay?
This is a bigger, richer white wine, so I would pair it with food that can stand up to it rather than something too delicate.
Chicken works really well, and I would happily drink this with a roast dinner because there is enough body in the wine to cope with all the richness on the plate. I can also see it working brilliantly with something like hunter’s chicken, especially because the oak and ripe fruit have enough weight to handle the sauce.
I would genuinely consider putting this on the table at Christmas as well, particularly if you want a white wine that will not disappear next to turkey and roast potatoes.
This is not the sort of Chardonnay I would reach for with very light seafood or a simple salad because I think the wine would probably overpower the food, but give it something richer and it starts making a lot more sense.
Why So Many People Think They Hate Chardonnay
This is probably the bit I care about most because Chardonnay has had a rough ride for years. People still tell me they are ABC, anything but Chardonnay, and I completely understand where that comes from if their experience was built around cheap, heavily oaked bottles years ago. But Chardonnay itself is one of the most versatile grapes in the world, and winemakers can do an enormous amount with it.
It can be lean and fresh, it can be rich and buttery, and everything in between depends on where it is grown and how the winemaker handles it. That is why I always tell people not to write the grape off completely after one bad experience. Try a richer Californian Chardonnay, then try something fresher from Burgundy, and you might be surprised how different the two bottles feel.
Verdict
My Bread and Butter Chardonnay review is pretty easy, I really like it. If you already know you enjoy oaked Chardonnay, this is an easy recommendation because the vanilla and buttery character are there straight away, but there is enough fruit and acidity underneath to stop it feeling too much. At around £15 or £16, I also think it sits in a useful place because it feels more serious than a lot of cheaper supermarket Chardonnay without becoming silly money.
If you hate heavily oaked wine, then this probably is not going to change your life, but if you have written Chardonnay off completely, I would give this style another chance before you decide the grape is not for you. There is a reason Chardonnay is grown all over the world, and when a winemaker gets the balance right, it can be absolutely brilliant. For me, Bread and Butter gets that balance pretty much right.
Watch My Bread and Butter Chardonnay Review
If you want to see the full tasting, have a watch below because I compare Bread and Butter with a very different style of Chardonnay and explain why the same grape can taste so different depending on how it is made. I also talk through what I get from the glass and why I think this bottle works so well for people who enjoy richer, oaked white wine.
