Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromatic set begins with bursts of earth and lemon verbena, followed by a wonderful combination of sliced warm sourdough bread topped with apple butter. The wine's rich texture fills the mouth as flavors of chamomile tea with lemon and honey unite with roasted walnuts and donut peaches. The wine went through malolactic fermentation, after which it rests on the lees for 11 months in used French oak. Enjoy now–2030.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
Aromas of crushed sage, baked lemon and a hint of lavender. Medium-bodied with steady and driving acidity that pulls out the citrus and herbs are articulates them clearly. Fresh. Chalky texture with a bit of chew at the finish. Bottle age will bring it together. Drink or hold.
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.