Chardonnay might be one of the world’s two great white wine grapes – kudos and points to anyone who can name the other, answers below please – but that hasn’t stopped it becoming a whipping boy for many cognoscenti, a reputation that is almost entirely deserved.

You see, while the chardonnay grape is responsible for the sublime white wines of Burgundy, all too often the new world versions are over-oaked and cloying, and as such are looked down upon by us critics who pride ourselves on tastes far superior to such prosaic oak juice.

Now it is true that this trend to over-oak chardonnay has ameliorated somewhat in recent years but it is still the dominant characteristic of the American wine. But not all new world chardonnay conforms to this unfortunately well-justified stereotype, and over the next few months I will be featuring occasional versions from Napa other American appellations that set themselves apart from this unfortunate focus-group-driven trend. These are great, elegant, refined American chardonnays, chardonnays that are made to be drunk with food, and are wines deserving of wider attention.

The Chappellet family were amongst the earliest of the modern era wine pioneers in Napa, settling on the steep elevations of Pritchard Hill on the eastern slopes of the valley. They have long been known for their cabernet sauvignon but I have often found it disappointing, a bit over-extracted for my taste.

Far less noticed has been their chardonnay and so it was only with limited expectations that I pulled the cork on the Chappellet Chardonnay 2007 ($32), and consequently my subsequent surprise at what a wonderful wine I discovered was even greater.

It shows a delicate, woody – not oak, but more bark –  complexity with notes of real slatey minerality on the citrus-tinged finish.

It has what I look for in a great white wine – that mysterious combination of power and finesse, and here the judicious use of oak seamlessly integrated with pure, fresh chardonnay acidity results in a wine that’s all lemon-and-honey harmony. Winemaker Phillip Corallo-Titus has taken the lush California fruit and coaxed out of it an almost Burgundian elegance and finesse.

The angels are singing in this wine – now where’s my sole? Dover, of course.