I found this interesting… Not sure about the first and third comment. Deeper color is more indicative of age/oxidation and are you really getting your butter from oak? How about diacetyl from malolactic fermentation… Oak will give you vanilla, caramel, etc.
When tasting Chardonnay there are a couple of things you can note right away:
A deeper color in the wine is often an indication of oak aging.
Thick, slow moving legs? This is usually a trait of New World Chardonnay wines with more than 14% ABV
Smell butter or brûlée? Yep, that’s the oak coming through!
I think the first comment is correct though. Part of what you gain from aging in oak is the oxygen permeability of the oak, which does impart some of that oxidation to the wine. She says “often” as a qualifier which is correct.
The third comment is up for debate, though I think what people usually refer to as “buttery” in a chardonnay does reflect oakiness, even though diacetyl actually comes from malo like you say. If you were to do chard in 100% stainless and do full malo I’m not sure you’d really get a “buttery” chardonnay, you’d probably still retain that brighter fruit characteristic with a smoothing in the acid profile. I’d say 3 is colloquially correct though not technically correct, which sort of goes with WineFolly’s whole deal. it’s not really “for” folks like us.
All I can say when I watch her videos is wow. Madeline has some serious energy. Seems like she is downing 3 or 4 shots of espresso before she makes a video. Also I never seen anyone eating a breakfast burrito before she attempts to drink wine.
