TN: 2015 Cameron Chardonnay Dundee Hills (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills)

  • 2015 Cameron Chardonnay Dundee Hills - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (11/24/2016)
    Light straw yellow with light lemon nose. Dry, nicely tart medium fruit, with moderate acid, some slatey mineral and a touch of residual sugar. Lemon with a bit of kiwi fruit, soft tannins give a smooth mouth feel and balance to the acid resulting in a very enjoyable refreshing wine. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

In before ‘2014 or 2015?’.

Surprised JP would leave RS in a chard. Interesting.

We had our third or fourth bottle of this tonight. Pretty much agree with the note. I’m not sure if there is any residual sugar but there is a little “fatness” in the wine. With a price that’s several dollars less than even run of the mill Bourgogne this is a steal.

I felt the same way about the '15 WV bottling I had about a month ago. Even at $11.98, a little too much “rs” for me. I have yet to try the DH.

I would imagine both the '14 and the '15 chards are bone dry from a RS standpoint. There was an awful lot of ripe fruit on the '14s and a little ripe fruit on the '15s but in no way did I detect RS. I think that’s just a fuller bodied, more fruit forward vintage showing itself than anything.

I much preferred the Dundee '15 over the '14. At $19, it’s a great deal.

In the RS note I was trying to convey that the flinty mineral was not bone dry but tempered slightly by the fruit. My wife liked it and she does not like an off dry Riesling, but a crisp Pinot gris or sauv blanc. newhere

This entire thread is frustrating for me in so many ways. First, where is anyone finding 2015 Cameron Willamette Valley Chardonnay? Not the '15 Dundee, the cheap ‘ol no foil-havin’ WV? JP told me in person it wasn’t coming out until November. I’ve been looking and looking, and every place I ask says they have no idea, but then they all mention the Dundee Hills they have for sale. Second, Grandpa, is your note for the 14 Dundee or 15? I bought a case of the 15 and have only had one, but 91 points at is juncture seems too generous, I feel like it needs more time but perhaps you can rate on potential which i can not. I’d take a 2014 WV chard over 2015 Dundee any day right now. Third, JP also told me that at least for the WV, the barrels that went into the WV chard did have a touch of RS, that’s why they didn’t make the cut for the $60 bottles of Clos Electrique or Abbey Ridge, so one could expect a little RS in a Cameron chard that costs less than $20.

So where is the 2015 WV?

Dennis contributes a lot of good notes to the board so I try not to get hung up on his scoring and give him shit anymore, although I believe I have in the past, unfairly. If I may be so bold I will state what I have observed; he typically only goes as low as about 88 or 89 if he doesn’t really care for the wine very much. A wine at 91 is right in his wheelhouse and if he’s really smitten he will bump it up to a 93.

Thanks Ron, this old geezer still has a few things to learn. I just started drinking chard when I had a bottle of Vincent a couple years back and had the what am I missing moment. Trying to buy 50/50 now, next up is a Walter Scott chard. I seem to be heading opposite to RP in that I like a more nuanced wine these days. I should have taken a new bottle shot of the '15. When writing a note, I like to consider what others may like in a wine even if it doesn’t appeal much to me.

Market of Choice bought the bulk of the WV Chardonnay. All of the PDX stores (West Linn, Terwillerger, and Cedar Mill) should have it. Additionally, there is no 2014 Abbey Ridge Chardonnay. Most of the barrels that normally go into that are in the Reserve bottling that hasn’t been released yet. Some parts of Abbey Ridge was over-cropped in 2014 (same was true of the Pinot Noir), and the resulting wine wasn’t deserving of a $69 price point.

Rick, thanks for the note. I had been looking for the '15 WV for so long I got super frustrated when Joseph mentioned it and almost lost it. I actually had never heard Market of Choice until today, I can’t tell you how many other stores I’ve checked this month. Super pissed, I wrote JP last night and he was kind enough to tell me what you did, that it all went to one retailer. The guy at MOC said today he thought only about 80 or 100 cases were made. With case discount, I got 12 bottles for about $12.15 I think, and I have one chilling in the freezer right now since the fridge will take too long. Thanks for the Reserve info, I had no idea. The '14 WV is one of my all time favorite wines ever, I can’t imagine what a reserve would be like.

Dennis, I didn’t mean to shit on your scoring, I was just bummed you liked the '15 Dundee so much when I did not. It made me think I’d never find something as good as the '14 WV ever again, that’s all.

No problem Scott, this is not the politics forum. I have not had the '14 WV chard, I got to the party late. newhere I did have some Vincent '14 which got sucked down and I had barely a sip for a note. A bunch of winos next door really liked it.[snort.gif]

I bought a case of this…and while there’s a lot more ripe fruit than other Cameron bottles…the quality is still there. I think it just needs some time sideways. Until then, I’m more than happy with it at the $20/bottle price-point.

Drank my lone bottle of this tonight. Really stuffed chard for the price. More oaky, buttery notes than I’d expect, but the wine carries it all without issue. These entry level Cameron wines are all such good deals.

Had the 2016 DH chard bottle tonight. I bought a few of these, and when I popped one in December it was all oak to me. A really surprising showing and not the most enjoyable. 7 months later everything is in its place and this is drinking well. Lemon and rich apple and some oak still, but nothing out of place.
Hard to see how this gets any better, but it’s definitely delicious right now.

I’m pretty sure JP is using all neutral oak on these bottles. Maybe it’s the vintage pushing these aromatics? Or maybe I’m crazy and he is using new oak.

My understanding is that the DH Chard sees new oak so that he can have properly seasoned/used wood for the higher end cuvees. Not coincidentally, I’ve always felt there was a big jump between the Dundee and the Reserve.

As much as I love Cameron Rick, this might be a stretch. I recently picked up some 2016 Paul Pernot Bourgogne…really lovely, $20/bottle. Some of the affordable Maconnais whites have also been killing it. I’m very happy to have a couple of cases worth of misc. vintage Cameron Chards but for youthful consumption, the competition is stiff.

RT

The Dundee Hills is $16 retail and I pay less. Most of the Bourgogne that shows up here (and a number of them are very good and I buy by the case) is around that or more, wholesale. I’ve always felt that Cameron Chardonnay has a little bit more California in it, compared to Goodfellow and Walter Scott. I view the WV offerings from those guys more akin (but better IMO) to Bourgogne at roughly the same price.