Winemaker Notes
The nose is replete with aromas of fresh pear, toast, lemon oil, honeysuckle, damp slate, caramel, allspice, orange blossom and apple. Soft and round on the entrance, the wine boasts fruit flavors of juicy Asian pear, honeydew, lemon zest and apple complemented by toast, spice and baked bread. Acidity left over from partial malolactic fermentation provides freshness and crisp minerality on the mid-palate. Light oak aging provides structure and spice while the acidity carries over for a long and satisfying finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Bright, fresh peach and melon aromas abound in this youthful and fruit-forward style of chardonnay. The palate has a very fresh and vivacious feel with lemon, grapefruit and pear flavors. Drink now.
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Wine & Spirits
With its scents of pear and lees shadings from (mostly) neutral oak barrels for aging, this reads like a chardonnay from a pinot gris master—which it is. The flavors are fulsome and satisfying, ripe pear and pie crust, a hint of hazelnuts to lend complexity. And a steal for the price. Best Buy
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Wine Spectator
A plump white, with appealing pear and lime flavors that glide on the crisp, refreshing finish. Drink now.
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.