Is there a difference between these wines and Burgundy chards? I’m not so sure. Both cases, they drink nicely in that time frame. But a good 1er Cru or, for example, a Walter Scott X-Novo, are built to go a longer distance, no?
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I don’t want to speak for the Walter Scott folks (Ken, Erica, Andy), but I think that they have suggested a drinking window of 7-10 years for the Chardonnays. 2013 was the first year of the X-Novo Chardonnay, so not much data on that particular wine (or any of the Walter Scott Chardonnays). I opened a 2013 Walter Scott X-Novo Chardonnay at the final Cork Vault bottle share in November 2022. It might have been an off bottle, but I would probably recommend drinking now. Besides a few folks (DDO, Eyrie, Cameron, etc.), not enough data points to truly know about some of the Oregon Chardonnays. I don’t mean any of this as slight to any of my favorite Oregon winemakers. I’m still holding a few bottles of the 2013 Walter Scott X-Novo and all of the other X-Novo’s, 2012 Goodfellow Richard’s Cuvee and most of the other recent vintages, 2012 Arterberry Maresh Maresh Chardonnay and some of the other vintages, etc. I can say that the 1995 and 2011 Eyrie Chardonnays, the 2011 DDO Arthur Chardonnay were all delicious and consumed rather recently. Time will tell…
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That’s a good question. I don’t know if there’s enough data to inform Oregon’s aging curve in relation to a 1er Cru from Burgundy. It would make for one heck of an off-line.
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I love Goodfellow. I’m excited to try the Vincent wines I got from BD! Heard Morgen Long was good, but a bit more expensive that I have seen.
If you look at the “Ageing OR Chard” thread that Patrick linked, Ken or Erica chimed in and said that they like OR Chard in the earlier drinking window. 7-10 years as you said.
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Thanks. My memory isn’t completely gone.
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Here it is.
Edit: That didn’t link well. He said: "We truly believe that the chardonnays from the Willamette Valley have the ability to age. How long? Well, what do you like in the wines you drink? Our first vintage of chardonnay was 2011 (140 cases BTW), recently Erica and I have gone back and tasted some of our early vintages to reflect on the decisions we made and the wine’s evolution. We have found some bottle variation which we definitely attribute to cork, but found most of the wines to be pretty fresh and youthful. The '11’s & '12’s are starting to show notes of evolution where as the '13’s & '14’s are tight and youthful.
There are plenty of great examples of Willamette Valley chardonnays that have aged well, made by folks who were truly dedicated to the varietal! Our intention is to make wines of balance that should ultimately age well. We are, much like the many producers we admire in this valley, absolutely obsessed and committed to the varietal. Ultimately the perfect drinking window for a wine is totally subjective. Erica and I tend to fall toward the earlier side int the 5-8 years from vintage."
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I think that as wine collectors, we seem to think that there’s something sexy about holding on to wine for long periods of time. Sometimes that works out great and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve tasted enough oxidized chardonnay from both Oregon and Burgundy to last a lifetime, and I’ve been making a concerted effort to drink both the Oregon Chardonnays and White Burgundies before they get to that point. That said, there are very few Chardonnays from Oregon that I would confidently age for more than seven years. For those that I think can go longer, Eyrie, Goodfellow, and Walter Scott come to mind. I think there are a number of newer producers who make wines that age very well, but it’s still a little early to know for sure.
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I had a 2020 Goodfellow WV Chard over the weekend. Drink now. Why now? Because it is delicious now. I think there is a tendency with wine collectors to find a wonderful wine in its youth and assume that it is going to get even better. That is not always the case. Sometimes it does; often it just gets different. Carpe Diem
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Yes, it would!
It’s cheap enough to buy plenty to drink now and save a few for a couple of years…
True. Or drink the 2021s, 2022s, 2023s in a couple of years. There are so many good wines to buy and drink every year, I am starting to wonder why I bother buying all but the most age-worthy wines for more than current consumption.
I would add one more, phenolics which new world producers have been running away from for years! Since 2019 we have been experimenting with crushing our Chardonnay and as of 2021 all Chardonnay is crushed via a detachable crusher that sits at the end of our conveyor directly into the press.
This produces more solids (lees) to share amongst our barrels once we barrel down as all ferments start in tank first. Native. Always. Forever.
There’s more…
KP
Ken PahlowWinemaker/owner Walter Scott
503.502.6699
kp@walterscottwines.com
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Thank you for the detailed response. There are so many farming variables. It’s nice to know it’s not difficult finding grape growers in Oregon who feel taking care of the land will take care of the grapes (even if it’s a bit extreme).
Another thing I’d like to know are Chardonnay vineyards that are favorites and if it’s farmed sustainable (which is a broad and vague term) bc there is a large range for “natural”.
I’m familiar with Deep Roots Coalition [http://www.deeprootscoalition.org/]
Which has many of the producers already listed in this thread.
What other vineyards should I be looking for? Favorites and if known to be sustainable in some way.
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Thanks for the post, Ken. Why do you think there has been the hesitancy when it comes to phenolics/extract? Doesn’t dry extract help with the texture of the wine, to say nothing of its oxygen scavenging properties? I personally love, love, love a little texture in my Chardonnay. Is that why I like yours so much???
Oh man, I think many producers were looking for MORE texture in the manner of glycerol (Parker) with increased alcohol, battonage, etc and whole cluster pressing brought this. Plus instant accessibility. Having the wines taste now like they might with bottle age of 8-10 years.
As we move forward-and I think the best in Burgundy and a tiny percentage new world, did this and a new generation continues to-we look backward for inspiration. Lower yields, crushing, more solids in barrel, lower PH’s, higher acids, approximate ripeness at picking (NOT early, because the fruit of guys like me is RIPE when I pick it). Exciting times. Unfortunately the best of Burgundy has become out of reach for many and there no change in sight. And some of them may be pushing yields up due to demand and ultimately money. The best will stay the best. I intend to give them all a run.
KP
Ken PahlowWinemaker/owner Walter Scott
503.502.6699
kp@walterscottwines.com
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Interesting. Maybe I don’t understand the nuances, but I always thought the “texture” brought by phenolics and dry extract was different (and for me, better) than the mouthfeel/unctuousness you get from high alcohol/glycerol. Maybe a lot of battonage can mimic what I’m looking for, but then you increase the risk of prem-ox, no?
You’re definitely giving Burgs a run. The other day, Gina and I were having a nice 1er from Puligny from a good producer that retails for well over $100 and we both agreed, why wouldn’t we just buy more X Novo and skip the Burg? I took it a step further and said “Let’s open a Cuvee Anne, I bet it’s just as good as this, if not better.” So, we did open it.
And I was right.
Keep doing what you’re doing. We’re slowly moving more and more of our Chard purchases to Walter Scott (and other really good OR chard producers) and just skipping Burgundy.
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Thanks for the kind words and very thoughtful review Stephen. I am a big believer in the current and potential quality of Oregon Chardonnay as well (Willamette Valley specifically, though the grape does well in many areas in the PNW).
2020 Black Walnut was the only vineyard designate wine I made in 2020, and also made up 50% of my Willamette Valley Chard. It is one of the highest elevation parcels of Chardonnay planted in the Dundee Hills, and we used all three of the clones from the three acre block planted in 2015 (picked and pressed together). The barrels that made this cuvée started and finished fermenting in 228L barrels and aged on their lees until late December of 2021 before spending the last month in stainless steel.
My relationship with the vineyard is 100% based around my close relationship with the former vineyard manager extraordinaire, my friend Ryan Hannaford. The superlative attention to detail by him and his team cannot be understated with respect to the integrity of the wine we made during an unusually challenging growing season.
And a note on the vintage. We picked Black Walnut around 5 days after rains finally ended the eight days of smoky skies we experienced in the Willamette Valley. During the smoke event, vineyards experienced shade from the sun in addition to poor air quality, shutting down aspects of ripening. In this case, I think sugar loading somewhat haulted while physiological ripeness continued. With lower than average yields, this combination resulted in ripe, concentrated grapes with relatively modest to low sugar levels and modest to high acid levels. More or less perfect for crafting the sort of Chardonnay that ends up like this one. Some producers would have seen our juice chemistry and assumed we were aiming to make base wine for methode champenoise. Those producers are not on your list here.
Hope to see you again soon, you will like the 21s I think! 2021 Black Walnut will be the last edition I make as the site is now owned by Foley Entertainment Group and the farming is no longer being done using organic inputs or farmed by people I know personally.
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Wines in good balance will always offer positive experiences!
I think Chards like the 20s have lots of aging potential personally. The '20 vintage for me is only around 13 months in bottle now, so only beginning to loosen up. They remind me more of the
18 Coast Range I made chemistry wise, and that is holding up like it hasn’t aged a bit.
I did not offer 20’s on BD last year because of all the negative attention around the vintage. My customers love the wines, but most of them either trust me as a producer or had the chance to try them with me personally. I think the proof is in the pudding.
And I do have around 70 bottles of Black Walnut Chard from 2020 left for sale. This wine feels pretty bulletproof
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