Winemaker Notes
The Queen of Chardonnays, from the oldest and finest vines in the Willamette Valley. Bergstrom's 17th vintage of Sigrid Chardonnay has exotic aromas of freshly struck flint, Opal apples, honied graham, tarragon, white jasmine, buttered brioche, and vanilla bean. There is a mineral structure with lovely salinity. Broad and expansive with flavor and seamless texture. Rich with nectarines, pear, ginger custard, and toasted hazelnuts. Structured and creamy with a lovely balance of salinity. It is a harmonious wine with many glorious years ahead of it.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Chardonnay Sigrid shows a bright yellow color with a green tinge. Sourced 100% from estate fruit from their three oldest vineyards – Silice, Le Pré du Col, and Bergström Vineyard – it represents the best barrel selection from the oldest vines and is named after Josh’s grandmother. Aromas of lime oil, wet stones, and white peach are complemented by a light reduction that never overwhelms the wine. The palate is long, structured, and energetic, staying light on its feet within a full-bodied frame. They lost 50% of their Chardonnay crop to frost in this vintage, so this wine may be tougher to track down, but it’s well worth seeking out.
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Vinous
The 2022 Chardonnay Sigrid entices with a savory collage of crushed rocks, flint, oyster shells and green apples lifted by a whiff of mint. It is beautifully balanced, silken yet finessed and refined, with nuances of almond custard and ripe orchard fruit contrasted by mineral-infused acids and citrus tones. Sigrid leaves the palate completely clean, nearly salty in nature and remarkably fresh while finishing long with a cheek-puckering tension.
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Decanter
This wine has become a Willamette Valley icon of sorts. An intense Chardonnay with plenty of barrel and malolactic influence but waves of fresh citrus and saline sea minerality coming together. Candied ginger and honeyed apricot aromatics ply together with notes of lemon curd and dried chamomile. The palate is an exercise in opulence, lemongrass freshness cuts across a rich lemon cream. Piquant mineral tones of seaspray and white pepper spice linger over the top of concentrated citrus and a hint of almond cream. Delightful.
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James Suckling
A spectacular combination of richness and toasty depth that aligns with brilliant acidity and citrus and stone fruit flavors. Almonds, toast, Bosc pears, white peaches and a touch of honey. Nervy and fresh, but also mellow, complex and long in the finish. The grapes come from three of the family vineyards.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay Sigrid was matured for 12 months in oak and an additional six months in stainless steel. It’s tightly coiled to begin, with initial wafts of matchstick slowly giving way to white peaches, lemon peel and chamomile. The medium-bodied palate is just as dramatic, beginning with understated citrus and mineral before fleshing out to stone fruit and honey. It has a silky texture, a vibrant spine of acidity and a very long, taut finish. It should be long lived in the cellar.
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Wine Spectator
Graceful and harmonious, with fragrant accents of lemon, orange zest and honeysuckle that glide on the vibrant finish.
Bergstrom Wines is a family-owned and operated artisan producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which was started in 1999 by Dr. John and Karen Bergstrom, with the help of their son Josh Bergstrom and his wife Caroline. Josh is general manager, vineyard manager and winemaker and pulls his expertise from his education in Burgundy, France and his 14 years experience making wines in Oregon's Northern Willamette Valley. Bergstrom focuses on hand-crafting small lots of wines from their fice estate vineyards carefully chosen from fice of Oregon's six wine-growing appellations. All estate acreage is farmed biodynamically and all wines express the wonderful diversity of Oregon's many great terroirs.
Bergström Wines consists of five estate vineyards totaling 84 acres that span across four of the Willamette Valley’s best appellations: The Bergström Vineyard, Silice Vineyard, Winery Block, Gregory Ranch and Le Pré du Col. Each estate vineyard is farmed without the use of harsh chemicals, systemic or fertilizers, and the winery produces approximately 10,000 cases of ultra-premium and extremely sought-after wine each year, including two Chardonnays and nine different Pinot Noirs.
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.