I thought I’d start a thread dedicated to all things Oregon Chardonnay. A search has several threads mention different Chardonnay producers/wines/tasting notes, etc, but not in a single thread. With the increased demand, it’s time.
I was looking for a place to give a compliment to @Will_Hamilton for his 2020 Black Walnut Chardonnay. So good and surprisingly (to me) paired well w spicy Thai food. So balanced, ripe pear, apple, lemon/lime fruit with refreshing acidity.
I love the 2020 vintage for OR Chardonnay. Honestly, ‘19-‘21 have been a step above previous (also very good) vintages. 2020 might be the best of the three.
If you have caught the Oregon Chardonnay bug, let’s hear from you.
Interestingly enough, at one point in my wine journey I thought whites in tastings was waste of time and a necessity before trying the reds. Now I’d prefer to end w the whites. I buy about 50% white and 90% of that is Oregon Chardonnay.
Favorite Producers in no particular order:
Goodfellow
Cameron
Brick house
Walter Scott
Vincent
Violin
Bethel Heights
00
Aterberry Maresh
Martin Woods
Eyrie
Drouhin
There are so many others I have yet to try.
It’s entirely possible that for the rest of my lifetime, there won’t be a better chardonnay bargain than the Walter Scott Sous Bois 2020 [corrected Bois Moi] . That was like getting a (very good) $75+ bottle of wine for $25.
I agree with all of this except the wine’s name. It’s Bois Moi. And we have consumed many cases. It became our any night white for over a year, and left us shaking our heads at bottles costing 4x. I’ve squirreled away a few bottles for the future, but we mostly decided to follow the directions on the label, and just enjoyed them young. Good call, Chris.
Have had a similar evolution in my appreciation for Oregon Chardonnay v. pinot. Great list.
Second the Morgen Long suggestion. Really good stuff and only producing chard.
Others I would add are Crowley and Kelley Fox. Both excellent. I think Crowley, is and has been in the top tier of Oregon Chardonnay producers for quite some time.
Definitely some new producers up and coming. Saul at Championship Bottle already mentioned. Niew vineyards has caught my eye among others.
Even more broadly than Chardonnay though, I have been impressed with the depth and breadth of expression of other white grapes that is expanding in Oregon. I have always been a fan of the Eyrie original vines pinot gris - and a number of others are making excellent versions of that grape, including Goodfellow.
But even beyond that, there is a burgeoning white wine scene that is really interesting to follow.
A huge +1 on The Eyrie and Goodfellow Pinot Gris. There is also some great Pinot Blanc being made. Cameron makes some really nice stuff with N. Italian grapes including Fruilano. And I would love to see some Chenin Blanc planted. I am in no way an ABC disciple, but I really don’t want OR to become just a sea of Chardonnay vines any more than just Pinot Noir vines. Lots of PG and Riesling vineyards have been ripped out to plant more Chardonnay because it pays the best. But isn’t diversity more interesting?
Love me some Oregon chardonnay! Goodfellow, Walter Scott, Morgen Long, Vincent, and Championship Bottle as many of you have mentioned. Really looking forward to the 2021s I’ve started to order.
Wine maker Eric Nuccio makes two excellent Chardonnay at sister wineries: Le Puis Sec at Evesham Wood and Juliette at Haden Fig. The grapes are sources for different vineyards and production is slightly different. The Le Puis Sec comes across as a bit rounder and richer while the Juliette is more reductive with higher acidity. They are both on my buy short list for OR Chard.
Just had a Lingua Franca Estate chard, 2019, which was scrumptious. Walter Scott Le Combe Verte has long been our house white. Unbelievable value–I seem to have missed the Bois Moi. How do they compare.
We’ve been searching Willamette Valley for whites for years and have found most of those mentioned above.
Marcus’ Pinot Gris is awesome. Heartily second Brick House, Crowley and Walter Scott. We were in the Valley about a month ago and tasted some really good chards at Dusky Goose and Holloran.
