Three Chardonnays: 
Anthony Road 1998 Chardonnay, Brancott 1999 Gisborne Chardonnay, & Sterling Vintner's Collection 1999
by Kevin R. Kosar

It's been written elsewhere but is worth reiterating- Chardonnay is screwed up more often than not.  I cannot count the number of times I've been to a social gathering and picked up a plastic cup of Chardonnay and nearly choked from the ester and the the sickly intense oak.  I do not know why, but when chardonnay is done bad, the result is just egregious. 

Here, I am happy to report, are three inexpensive Chardonnays.  All of them are wise buys.  They come from diverse origins, taste differently, and all three are very drinkable.
Anthony Road's 1998 Chardonnay (12.2% alcohol by volume) comes from northern New York State.  It is the lightest of the bunch.  It's almost water thin, and displays tropical notes with a soft spine of oak.  This wine was quite refreshing today when the temperature soared to near 90 with humidity.  At $11 a bottle it is quite fairly priced. 
(Rating ***1/4) 
Brancott's 1999 Gisborne Chardonnay (13% alcohol by volume) of New Zealand is a little more viscous than the Anthony Road and floods your palate with succulent ripe pear.  How the folks at Brancott managed to impart such an intense flavor without wrecking the wine altogether is beyond me.  As one taster commented, "This is almost an un-Chardonnay.  It's similar to a wine cooler, in terms of its sweetness and pungency."

Quite right.  This is a fine warm weather wine and is well worth a try at $10. (Rating ***1/2)
 
Sterling Vineyards Vintner's Collection 1999 Chardonnay (13.5% alcohol by volume) may be the most complex of the three.  It begins sweet and the taste of the grapes predominate. Then it does a backflip, offering up an overripe melon sourness before lurching into a modest, soothing vanilla note.  It's quite a ride for $12.99 and this wine pairs incredibly well with salty bleu cheese.  (Rating ***3/4)