Winemaker Notes
A luminous Chardonnay from the historic Seven Springs Vineyard, shaped by volcanic soils, coastal tension, ripe orchard fruit, sweet spice, lemon custard, mint, and saline liquid-stone length.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Chardonnay Seven Springs Vineyard pours a deeper golden-green hue and lifts beautifully from the glass with aromas of green apple, lime candies, floral notes, and a pretty saline quality. Medium to full-bodied, it floats effortlessly across the palate with more floral character, melon, and lovely freshness
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James Suckling
Lots of coconut and wood on the nose with apple pie and citrus. Both dried and cooked apples with coconut continue on the full-bodied, really flavorful and tangy palate. Some yogurt and matchstick in the finish. Delicious and fresh. If you like full-throttle chardonnay, this is it.
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Vinous
The 2023 Chardonnay Seven Springs tempts the imagination with its forward personality as ripe orchard fruits meld with sweet spice, lemony custard and a hint of mint. Silken textures flood the palate, carrying vividly ripe apple and melon tones, while a citrus twang lends dimension and juicy acidity keeps the experience vibrant and fresh. A subtle saline inflection lingers as a sensation of liquid stone and sweet citrus fades. A seductress.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Chardonnay Seven Springs has intense aromas of caramel, red apple, pie crust, holiday spice and well-integrated, toasty oak. The medium-bodied palate has a satiny texture and highly concentrated, spicy flavors. It’s balanced by refreshing acidity and has a long, spicy finish.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.