Winemaker Notes
#15 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2022
Roserock Chardonnay brings together the estate’s three Chardonnay blocks, which are handpicked and sorted. The Chardonnay is pressed immediately and sent in equal parts to tank and barrel. Once malolactic fermentation is complete, Véronique assembles the two portions into her final cuvée.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lovely aromas of white tea, crushed herbs and citrus. Medium-bodied. Tangy, with a hint of lime, but it transitions into more straw and fresh-mint character. Fresh overall. Nicely layered. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Opulent and refined, with a vibrant core of acidity framed by pear, cantaloupe and toasty spice flavors that build depth and richness on the savory finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Chardonnay is scented of crème brûlée, golden apples, crushed almonds, hay and baker's yeast. The light-bodied palate is fresh and tangy with delicate, nutty flavors and a long, gently flinty 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.