Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Some kind of magic is happening here. As the lowest-priced Chardonnay in Stoller's lineup, this may turn out to be your favorite. Using all-stainless steel, this sleek style brings out the aromatics, texture and detail. There's tensile strength here, herb-tinged accents, clean and juicy citrus-inflected fruit and superb balance throughout. Editors' Choice.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
One of the brightest and most generous Chardonnays from Oregon, the 2015 Stoller Family Estate Dundee Hills comes across as an excellent example of top-level, new world wine. The wine's ripe apple, tart citrus notes, and crisp acidity make it a prime choice with lightly sauteed scallops. Drinking very well now. (Tasted: June 22, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Chardonnay comes from 60 acres of planting, fermented in stainless steel, with lees stirring a couple of time each week. It has an attractive bouquet with subtle notes of nectarine, citrus peel and a touch of walnut. The palate is well balanced with a spicy, lemongrass-tinged entry that makes an immediate impression. There is good weight in the mouth, lively and taut with a slightly nutty finish. This is well worth seeking out - especially at this price point.
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.