Winemaker Notes
The 00 VGW (Very Good White) showcases the best of the Willamette Valley in a Chardonnay blend. Their "Black Chardonnay" production method results in a complex, savory Chardonnay, which has given 00 Wines an outstanding reputation for quality and attention to detail in the Willamette Valley.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chardonnay VGW is generous and exotic. The nose is bursting with ripe peach, honeycomb, pie crust, jasmine and gingery touches. The medium-bodied palate offers alluring, perfumed fruit in a silky frame, with focused acidity to balance, and a touch of textural grip drives the long, savory finish.
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Decanter
The VGW (Very Good White) is crafted from Dijon clone Chardonnay from the Eola-Amity Hills. The fruit was picked at 22 deg. Brix, despite advice to let it hang. The decision was wise - the resulting wine is balanced and elegant. Despite a pronounced reductive edge from the 'Black Chardonnay' technique of consultant Pierre Milleman, the wine is expressive and deep. Initially, the wine was a bit closed, but aromas of ripe pear, acacia flower, candle wax, and hay develop with time. The texture is rich and broad, with a depth that suggests that it will age for decades.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Chardonnay VGW is pure and sunny with pineapple, wet rock, pear, and delicate oak spice. The palate is ripe and long, with fresh peach, orange blossom, and warming spice.
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James Suckling
This just sings on the nose with intense grapefruit and a stony edge. Nougat and almond paste notes add complexity. The palate is richly textural with peaches, smooth honey and spice. Good grip. Intense.
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.
One of Pinot Noir's most successful New World outposts, the Willamette Valley is the largest and most important AVA in Oregon. With a continental climate moderated by the influence of the Pacific Ocean, it is perfect for cool-climate viticulture and the production of elegant wines.
Mountain ranges bordering three sides of the valley, particularly the Chehalem Mountains, provide the option for higher-elevation vineyard sites.
The valley's three prominent soil types (volcanic, sedimentary and silty, loess) make it unique and create significant differences in wine styles among its vineyards and sub-AVAs. The iron-rich, basalt-based, Jory volcanic soils found commonly in the Dundee Hills are rich in clay and hold water well; the chalky, sedimentary soils of Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton and McMinnville encourage complex root systems as vines struggle to search for water and minerals. In the most southern stretch of the Willamette, the Eola-Amity Hills sub-AVA soils are mixed, shallow and well-drained. The Hills' close proximity to the Van Duzer Corridor (which became its own appellation as of 2019) also creates grapes with great concentration and firm acidity, leading to wines that perfectly express both power and grace.
Though Pinot noir enjoys the limelight here, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay also thrive in the Willamette. Increasing curiosity has risen recently in the potential of others like Grüner Veltliner, Chenin Blanc and Gamay.