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For many of us, thoughts of oak-aged white wine begin and end with Chardonnay. It makes sense. No other white wine is more closely associated with time spent in wood barrels. But just as there are plenty of excellent Chardonnays that never see any oak — Chablis, for instance — a growing number of other whites age in it.
Oak has a reputation for lending classic baking spice notes like vanilla, cinnamon, and clove, but much depends on the age of the barrel itself. Newer oak will be more assertive. The barrel’s size, level of toast, and even where the wood’s trees grew can impact the final product. Also to be taken into consideration is the variety going into the barrel. These variables result in oak-aged white wines that encompass an incredible range of styles.
When used with care and thoughtfulness, oak can help nurture white wines of distinction and reveal unexpected and delicious flavors.
The oak-aged white wines below represent the breadth of styles on the market today. Make sure to also look to the Rhône Valley, the Tuscan coast, Australia, and pretty much anywhere else that produces great white wines.
When used with care and thoughtfulness, oak can help nurture white wines of distinction and reveal unexpected and delicious flavors.
Bouchaine Alsatian Blend
Food & Wine / Bouchaine
This estate-grown white from Los Carneros brings together Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer. The result is a dynamic, aromatically complex, and textural wine. This is amplified by the use of neutral oak for the Pinot Blanc, and a combination of clay amphora, stainless steel, and concrete egg for the others. Honeysuckle, lychee, and cardamom emerge in this inaugural vintage of a wine that shows immense promise.
Clos Solène Hommage Blanc Paso Robles
Food & Wine / Clos Solène
This Central Coast wine is mostly made up of Roussanne, with Viognier and Grenache Blanc in support. It is aged primarily in neutral French oak as well as 20% new French barrels and a brief time in amphora sandstone tank. This combined aging process results in a silky textured wine with notes of guava, preserved lemon, hawthorn, and warm baking spices. It is capped with a punchy, acidic finish.
Cobb Cole Ranch Riesling
Food & Wine / Cobb Wines
This Mendocino County Riesling is crisp and dry with a reserved, steely quality. The vines are planted at more than 1,200 feet above sea level, and the wine is fermented until there are 0 grams of sugar per liter remaining. If you’ve never tried dry Riesling before, this would be a fantastic introduction. Hard green apples, stone fruit, lemon-lime, and a whiff of petrol develop throughout.
Component Wine Company Semillon
Food & Wine / Component Wine Co.
Semillon is most frequently seen as a blending partner for Sauvignon Blanc, but this wine is a stellar example of how wonderful the variety can be on its own. This wine is crafted from 137-year-old vines, planted in 1886, from Sonoma County’s iconic Monte Rosso Vineyard on Moon Mountain. After it rests in both three-year-old French oak and stainless-steel barrels, the wine develops a texture of pure silk and a quiet complexity, with notes of nectarines, orange blossoms, and flinty minerality.
Conde Valdemar Finca Alto Cantabria Viñedo Singular Rioja
Food & Wine / Valdemar Family
Viura is a white grape variety grown widely in northeastern Spain’s Rioja region. French oak can reveal its savory qualities and encourage it to develop into a complex wine over time. Crafted with fruit from old vines, its juice is fermented and aged on the lees in French oak. Saline flavors are balanced by dried flowers and almonds, hay, and hard orchard fruit. White licorice lingers through the finish of this layered, delicious wine.
Dr. Konstantin Frank Pinot Gris
Food & Wine / Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery
Arguably the most famous name in Finger Lakes wine, Dr. Konstantin Frank is now in its fourth generation of winemaking. This Pinot Gris is a wonderful example of why the brand has enjoyed such long-lived success. From the Hector Vineyard, this single-vineyard wine ferments 30% in barrel, followed by three months in large French-oak puncheons. In the glass, it has a slight grippy texture, with nectarines and bright, orange-like acidity that cuts through more floral notes that linger through the finish.
Early Mountain Petit Manseng
Food & Wine / Early Mountain Vineyards
Concentrated and full of vivid acidity, this terrific Virginia Petit Manseng delivers fresh herbs, green melons, pineapples, and lemon-lime flavors. It is fermented in large barrels, 15% of which are new, and then aged for a year in wood. This wine is somehow both summery and autumnal, excellent on its own, and very food-friendly.
Feudo Montoni Passito Bianco
Food & Wine / Feudo Montoni di Fabio Sireci
This acclaimed Sicilian producer of Nerello Mascalese, Nero d’Avola, Perricone, and more has hit a home run with this blend of Grillo and Cataratto. Grown more than 2,000 feet above sea level, these grapes produce a wine with flavors of honey-drizzled grilled pineapples, white raisins, dried dates, almond wafers, and subtle balsamic notes through the finish. It makes a perfect ending to a meal, either on its own or alongside a hard, salty cheese.
Inglenook Blancaneaux
Food & Wine / Inglenook
Viognier, Roussanne, and Marsanne, all estate-grown in Napa Valley’s famed Rutherford appellation, are aged for eight months on the lees in 23% new and 22% neutral French oak. It’s a creamy wine with fantastic texture that boasts flavors of honeysuckle, springtime blossoms, apricots, and granite-like minerality.
Jonata FLOR
Food & Wine / Jonata Wines
There is a wonderful creamy weight to this Ballard Canyon blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Semillon. It carries flavors of ginger, turmeric, oregano, passionfruit, white and yellow grapefruit, sweet spice, and a quietly savory grace note. This wine is already excellent, and it is sure to develop over time.
LOLA Malvasia Bianca
Food & Wine / LOLA Wines
Floral, with distinct jasmine and orange blossom notes, this wine is balanced by a steely acidity and bright yellow plums. Part of the producer’s Artisanal Series, this bottle is crafted with fruit from vines planted in 1974 in St. Helena and has spent time in neutral oak as well as stainless steel, amphorae, and concrete. It’s a totally different expression of Napa Valley, one fantastically unexpected.
Neal Family Vineyards Rutherford Dust Vineyards Albariño
Food & Wine / Neal Family Vineyards
At first sip, this is a crisp and mineral style of Albariño. It then opens up to notes of nectarines and peaches, with nods toward springtime blossoms and jasmine. It’s crafted from estate-grown, biodynamic, and certified regenerative organic grapes, and it spends four months in 80% neutral and 20% new French oak.
Palisades Canyon Chenin Blanc
Food & Wine / Palisades Canyon Wines
Chenin Blanc once played an important role in Napa Valley. This estate-grown gem from Calistoga is a delicious argument for why we should pay more attention to the admittedly few acres of it planted there. This wine is concentrated yet lively, with notes of Seckel pear, honeycomb, and a subtle hint of flowers through the mineral finish. It spends 21 months in neutral French oak.
Ridge Grenache Blanc
Food & Wine / Ridge Vineyards
This impressive, vibrant wine comes from one of California’s most iconic producers. Paso Robles Grenache Blanc is joined by Picpoul and Roussanne. After a direct-to-press, whole-cluster fermentation, it spends four months in American and French oak as well as acacia. It is then transferred to amphora for four additional months, followed by a final half-year stint in neutral wood. This aging regimen produces a wine with substantial texture and reveals flavors of hard apples, verbena, passionfruit, and minerality. It’s a testament to the classic Ridge sense of layered restraint.
Troon Vineyard Druid’s White
Food & Wine / Troon Vineyard
This is an estate-grown, biodynamic, and Regenerative Organic Certified blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Vermentino, and Roussanne from Oregon’s Applegate Valley. The wine is lively and lime-kissed, subtly spicy and herb-flecked, reminiscent of fresh apple cider. It’s just creamy enough to work well alongside white meats like veal and pork, preferably in a piccata sauce.