Winemaker Notes
Starbright and a delicate golden hue, the 2017 Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay bursts with bright and fresh aromatics of white pineapple and zippy Meyer lemon. Exhibiting its hallmark complexity and richness on the palate, baked golden apple and creamy vanilla and praline flavors are delightfully balanced by a persistent minerality and mouthwatering acidity.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A very fluid wine with bright, pear and peach aromas with an edge of almond praline and spiced biscuits. The palate has a balanced and measured feel with layered and smoothly constructed texture as well as a long, caressing finish. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay Evenstad Reserve is made up of fruit from the domaine's various single-vineyard Chardonnay sites. The vines are all Dijon clones planted at relatively high elevation on Jory soils. Aged 14 months in 33% new French oak, it has lovely scents of poached pear, elderflower, quince, river stone and hints of nutmeg and sweet spice with notions of lime peel and honeyed white peaches. The palate is light to medium-bodied with great texture, intense flavor layers, lip-smacking acidity and a long, fresh, mineral-accented finish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay makes a statement that Oregon could be the center of this grape variety's universe. The wine's authenticity and length are impressive. Enjoy its riveting aromas and flavors of ripe apple and savory spices with an oven-baked roast chicken in a bed of organic baby spinach and arugula. (Tasted: April 28, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
This delicious wine is packed with a rich mix of tropical fruits, lush caramel and lightly toasted nuts. It fires on all cylinders as far as what most folks look for in a high-end Chardonnay, with an added burst of lively acidity. Never heavy, it continues through to a long finish of elegant, graceful, seamless flavors.
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Wine Spectator
Polished and elegantly opulent, with pear and apple flavors, accented by spice notes and finishing on a lingering steely detail. Drink now through 2020.
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Decanter
Very understated. A chic citrus fruit character of lemon and white grapefruit, with buttered toast and cedar on the palate.
Ken and Grace Evenstad founded Domaine Serene Vineyards and Winery in 1989 when they purchased 42 acres of just-logged land in the Dundee Hills of Oregon and built a five-level, gravity flow winery to produce ultra-premium Pinot Noir. Today, Domaine Serene produces wines from six individual vineyard estates in the Willamette Valley planted exclusively to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Each estate offers a diversity of soils, clones, rootstocks, microclimates, slopes, and elevations that add distinguishing complexity and elegance to the wines.
The Evenstads now own over 1,000 acres, more than 360 of which are planted to vine in three AVAs of the Willamette Valley and are actively preserving Oregon White Oak trees and the biodiversity of the region. They have achieved LIVE certification, the highest certification in the world for sustainable viticulture. Domaine Serene’s wines have won many accolades and awards, including 200 wines scoring 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator. Their 2013 Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir was recognized as #3 Wine in the World, while the 2014 Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay received 95 points and was ranked the #2 Wine in the World according to Wine Spectator. Over the years, Domaine Serene has opened three Oregon Wine Lounges in Portland, Bend, and Lake Oswego that offer wine club members, locals, and visitors an elevated wine experience.
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.