Evening Land Seven Springs Vineyard La Source Chardonnay 2009
-
Wine
Spectator -
Wine &
Spirits
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Brilliant and golden straw color, the complex aromas fill the glass with citrus and floral notes of acacia and honeysuckle, mixed with a flinty character. The palate is smooth to start with, yet with a very stony and tight core. The elegant and long finish is sustained by the balanced acidity, streamlined minerality and expresses savory notes with a hint of hazelnuts.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
Vibrant and poised, balancing its intense flavor profile of pear, quince and lemon blossom with layers of minerality on an electric structure that sparks with beautifully modulated acidity. A stunning white that has tremendous depth and presence. Drink now through 2020. 487 cases made.
-
Wine & Spirits
This is one of those rare American chardonnays that transcends the usual paradigm of "fruit first, ask questions later." There's a pineapple scent in its complex bouquet, but it's in the service of greater elements - mineral, oyster shell, talc and fine tang of lees. On the palate it has the acidity of a wine from the Macon; in its silky line and subtle richness it gives a nod to great Pouilly-Fuisse. The acidity keeps it firm and detailed, while shaping the minerality in the texture, hardly upstaging it. Drinking beautifully now, it has the stuff to age and delight for ten years or more.
Other Vintages
2019-
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
- Decanter
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine &
Spirits -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Spectator
Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman stand at the vanguard of the new world wine. Together they steward the historic Seven Springs Vineyard into its fourth decade. At Evening Land Vineyards, they strive to grow and vinify fine Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Gamay from their historic Seven Springs Estate Vineyard in Oregon's Eola-Amity Hills. Totalling 85 acres under vine; their east-facing vineyard, farmed biodynamically since 2007, was first planted in 1984, and sits atop rocky, volcanic soils.
They are, first and foremost, faithful stewards of the historic Seven Springs vineyard, planted by Oregon wine pioneer Al MacDonald in 1984. On this dramatic east-facing slope, in the iron-rich and rocky, volcanic soils of the Eola-Amity Hills, Al MacDonald undertook what would become one of Oregon's most recognized vineyards. Nestled against a forest of Douglas fir with views eastward to Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson, it is immediately evident to any visitor why Al chose this site.
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.
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.