Seth’s Durant Chard is great stuff.
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A new review out by Eric Guido. Of course, you heard it here first. 
2021 Haden Fig Chardonnay Juliette @ $40/bottle
“The 2021 Chardonnay Juliette is pleasurably rich and fruit-focused, blending baked apples and pears complemented by almond custard hints and candied lime. This is softly textured with depths of ripe nectarine and green melon coasting along a core of brisk acidity as honeyed inner florals resonate throughout. This blends richness with finesse as the mouths is left watering with touches of peach preserve and an air of lemon custard. This is a beautifully pure yet complex effort. Bravo.”
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How’s that ‘19 Maresh doing?
I just drank Jim’s 2019 Tan Fruit Maresh and, for me, doesn’t quite live up to the amazingness that is the AM Maresh bottling. I’d pay the extra $10 to drink that over the Tan Fruit any day. Still a really nice wine but was just missing something. My $.02
Great to hear (for me), as I passed on Tan Fruit in ‘19 in favor of the AM Maresh. Tan Fruit sounded interesting but I my wallet doesn’t need another project to follow!
So, I’m a little late to this question, but I’ve been rather busy in the last couple of months. Full disclosure. These bottles were all in my fridge at my previous residence. I moved over the Christmas break and brought the bottles to my new residence. All of these bottles were opened over the course of the last year or more, but never finished. Laughing at (or mocking) the Day 2 thread over the holidays, a few of these bottles could be Day 365 or more. All of the bottles were still drinking fine. I’m guessing that some of my favorites from the tasting a few weeks ago would be the most recent bottles that were opened. The 2021 Walter Scott Justice still had that minerality and flintiness. The 2021 Crowley Phoebe had the most remaining in the bottle and was great. I’ve learned that I need to note on the bottle the opening date for future reference…
Sorry, I did not take any formal notes. Some of the bottles only had a small taste. Clearly we enjoy some of the same producers. If you have a particular bottle in mind, please let me know…
The 2019 Arterberry Maresh Maresh is doing great. Oddly enough, I had the last of that bottle last night. I don’t see any rush in opening a bottle. The 2012 Arterberry Maresh Maresh has been and was fantastic a couple of months ago.
I had a bottle of Tan Fruit within the last month as well. I don’t recall the vintage or vineyard, but I’ll guess 2019 Tan Fruit Maresh. I enjoyed both expressions and Jim is trying to differentiate between the labels…
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Don’t miss out on the Tan Fruit. We tasted with Jim at IPNC and tasted through the whole lineup of AM and Tan Fruit chardonnay and all are different. You get the difference in terroir and style between the 2 labels. I did prefer the AM Maresh Chardonnay over the Tan Fruit Maresh but that was just one wine. The Tan Fruit Eryie and the TF White Walnut were exceptional. So I’m planning on pretty much buying them all in 2022. As you said, with Morgen Long and Tan Fruit I have at least 8 OR producers that I’m buying and certainly enjoying drinking them.
We walked into that tasting thinking they would all taste like the AM bottings but he really does have a portfolio with a wide variety of styles and flavors to appeal to wide range of folks and we were all very impressed. Taste with him if your ever in town. Its worth it.
Sean
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Here’s another great one (posted elsewhere and pining it to this thread). (and there’s a whole other thread on ML’s new releases you can find here)
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I wasn’t sure whether to post here or in the Kelley Fox thread, but here goes. I had the 2018 Kelley Fox Chardonnay Durant. It was good, but, to be honest, nothing exciting for the simple reason that it tasted very much like a middle-of-the-road chardonnay (at least from an artisanal producer). Clean fruit, some smoke, a little vanilla, spicy finish. All good, but nothing distinctive. I find her pinots to be quite distinctive, so this was a bit of a let down, which may be a bit of a harsh reaction to a wine that was generally quite good.
When I had one of her chardonnays recently (can’t recall which one - it may very well have been that bottle), that was the exact same impression I had.
I can’t speak to 2018 but I had an initially similar reaction to the 2019, but found it had a unusually high sensitivity to temperature — I wish I had a thermometer on me but the 2019 went from ho-hum to electrifying to overly bitter within a very short time span. And the 2021 is a major step up (to me) in complexity.
Just received an email that the inaugural X Novo offer is in 2 weeks.
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Chris, have you tried her Pinot Blanc wines, especially the Barbie? I find it a singular expression of that grape in Oregon.
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This. And the 2022s are another step up again. It seems like she needed a few years to find her way with the grape.
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XNovo is a special vineyard though hoping it isn’t just for one percenters.
Honestly, not being able to buy certain bottles kind of sucks, but if I cant afford a new release Ive never tried I generally couldnt care less. And good for them if they can swing it…
I definitely want any and all entrepreneurs to be successful, especially ones out of the PNW. I tend to get FOMO, especially if it’s a vineyard I love. Lewman, Koosah or Maresh are good examples. I look for all producers from vineyards I enjoy whether I’m familiar with the producer or not. It makes for a fun SBS. When Tan Fruit released the ‘19 vintages,Jim made a small amount from Eyrie Estate. I immediately wanted some, though Tan Fruit was a new project.
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Goodfellow chard is the pinnacle of Oregon chard…if you haven’t had it, correct that. My public service announcement for the month.
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Vincent’s Pinot Blanc is damn good too.
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