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.
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Great thread and even better timing.
Is anyone else attending the Oregon Chardonnay Celebration this coming weekend?
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je suis stupide!
Thanks for correcting me.
I think I have maybe 8-10 left. No amount of that wine you bought would have been enough — you’ll always feel stupid you didn’t buy more.
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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.
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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?
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I would add EIEIO, Soter, Audeant and Antica Terra.
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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.
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I would second Crowley as an under appreciated. Iam going to add Brittan, and Violin as an up and coming one to watch
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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.
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Definitely add Suzor to your list, well regarded (for good reason) from BerserkerDay, and a personal favorite along with many others already listed
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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.
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I have Goodfellow, Suzor and Vincent Chards on order and really looking forward to trying them! Will follow this thread for others
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from BerserkerDay, I hope?
Yes! All but goodfellow are fron BD I didnt get goodfellow on time but will next year for sure!
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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.
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Expect Walter Scott to be back for BerserkerDay 15, too
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Bois Moi was a one off due to the fires in 2020. They didn’t make any other whites that year, AFAIK.
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There is a 2020 Walter Scott Cuvee Anne Chardonnay. I was corrected in another Oregon Chardonnay thread as I was under a similar impression at the time. Sadly, I don’t think that I purchased any of the 2020 Cuvee Anne and very little of the 2020 Bois Moi. I think that I had a bottle of the Bois Moi, but I don’t remember it as well as others in this thread and I’m a huge Walter Scott fanatic. On the other hand, I opened a 2020 Goodfellow Willamette Valley Chardonnay over the weekend. Give it a few days if possible, but it develops more with time. Rick Allen was spot on as always. I look forward to following this thread.
Oh, I enjoyed a bottle of 1995 Eyrie Chardonnay a few weekends ago. Still very much alive.
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I seem to be the only one who wasn’t completely bowled over by that Walter Scott Bois Moi. I thought it was solid, and good enough to pick up a couple of extra bottles. But not back up the truck territory.
My favorites include Goodfellow, Kelley Fox, Vincent, Twill, Championship Bottle, Morgen Long, Crowley.
That’s already too many to buy regularly.
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