Wine of the week

Rodney Strong, Chardonnay “Chalk Hill,” Sonoma County, 2005, $20

Wine snobs sometimes disparage California chardonnay, but millions of consumers, voting with their wallets, love it. The criticism stems from so many of the wines tasting alike and from oak — rather than fruit or minerality — often being the dominant flavor. In turn, the wine’s popularity stems from its being recognizable and reliable and from many people enjoying the buttery, vanilla-scented character that oak aging imparts to white wine.

When choosing a California chardonnay, familiarity often is a prime concern. With other wines, we may be looking for new tastes or flavors. With this one, though, we want something we already know. Of course, those satisfying flavors should be harmonious and balanced. In other words, though we want what we know, we also want it to taste good.

Rodney Strong”s 2005 “Chalk Hill” chardonnay delivers on those desires. It’s a comforting, comfortable wine with lush fruit flavors and more than a kiss of toasty oak and enough crisp acidity in the background to keep everything in proper balance.

Enjoy it with chardonnay’s usual partners: rich seafood dishes, fried chicken and, this time of year, corn on the cob.