Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A wine of depth and presence, this Chardonnay offers an array of intriguing flavors, from apple and stony mineral to lemon verbena and blanched almond. Takes on richness toward the steely finish. Drink now
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Chardonnay La Source opens with touches of matchstick that give way to apricot, beeswax, dried hay and singular herbal and spice undertones. The medium-bodied palate opens bright and minerally before expanding its honey-nut flavors, and it has a long, elegant 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.
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.