Winemaker Notes
In the Willamette Valley, whispers of the Pacific Ocean dance through the Chardonnay vines. Upon the first encounter, you are greeted with a vibrant bouquet with white peaches and grapefruit peels. Freshly cut pineapple leads a cascade of zest and zeal. Key lime cuts through with an invigorating invitation. Smooth and comforting, vanilla bean sets the stage for a decadent slice of yellow cake layered with passion fruit jam. Murmurs of green apple add a refreshing applause.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Nuanced aromas of white blossoms, sage, creme brulee and lemon tart. The palate is juicy, silky and medium-bodied, with bright acidity and flavors of lemons and sea salt. A really long, fresh finish with a hint of toastiness. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Graceful and lilting, with polished accents of Asian pear, nectarine and star jasmine that glide on the creamy yet crisp finish.
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Vinous
The 2024 Chardonnay Wild Bee soothes the senses and soul with a pretty blend of white peaches and flowers, complicated by nuances of ginger zest. It splashes across the palate with ease, creamy in texture yet lifted in feel, with stimulating acidity and depths of ripe pit fruit. This finishes with excellent length and a lemony concentration that puckers the cheeks, while a minty air resonates.
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.