Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
The 2023 Chardonnay Maresh Vineyard seduces with a burst of crushed flint stones, dusty sage, nectarine and gingery spice. Its textures are otherworldly, nearly oily yet sleek, with a sour citrus nervousness that excites the palate as opulently ripe apricot settles on the senses. Despite its weight and intensity, this 2023 Chardonnay leaves the palate reeling with tension, salty and lime intense, with a strong mineral resonance that adds lasting crunchiness. Gorgeous today yet balanced for a long evolution.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Chardonnay Maresh Vineyard was matured in 25% new oak plus an additional six months in stainless steel. It has understated aromas of apricot, panna cotta, beeswax, cereal and flint. The light-bodied palate has a silky texture and alluringly creamy, honey-nut flavors. It’s balanced by mouthwatering acidity and has a long, perfumed finish.
-
Wine Spectator
Precise and elegantly sculpted, with delicately layered lemon, green apple and jasmine blossom accents that dance on the supple yet vibrant 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.
Home of the first Pinot noir vineyard of the Willamette Valley, planted by David Lett of Eyrie Vineyard in 1966, today the Dundee Hills AVA remains the most densely planted AVA in the valley (and state). To its north sits the Chehalem Valley and to its south, runs the Willamette River. Within the region’s 12,500 acres, about 1,700 are planted to vine on predominantly basalt-based, volcanic, Jory soil.