All things Oregon Chardonnay

Or you could pay same price or MORE for overcropped, village level white burg…

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secret.

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Well, look who crawled out from under a rock! Come up to the Brewery and drink some beer!

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Yeah, yeah, I know. Was checking in today while Erica as the ‘business’ was watching all the lots and commenting on our fun ‘photos’:face_with_hand_over_mouth: I’ll get up to the brewery soon as I have only ONE can of pils left from the last round of flats. I’ll also try to be better about chiming in on some of these conversations. As crazy as the world of wine is and the world in general there are some awesome things happening in the world of wine and wine growing as well.

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2021 Morgen Long Willamette Valley


This certainly outperforms its appellation level designation. This wine has come together really nicely over the last year and is showing pretty well.

On the nose this leads with zingy citrus of the lemon, lime and mandarin orange persuasion, some underripe pineapple, white pepper, a touch of fresh mild yogurt, and a bit of toasty popcorn reduction. On the palate the wine is quite intense with searing acidity and a moderate plus body, the texture is well on its way to a nice waxy sheen and the finish is impressive. Despite the smooth texture there is some real chalky grip here. The flavors on the palate largely follow the nose but perhaps emphasize the more electric side of the citrus profile. This was never a super reductive wine but what reductive signature there was has receded and now shows as one among many in the flavor profile. I assume this saw a good amount of new oak as with most of Seth’s wines but, as with most of Seth’s wines, the oak is much more perceptible texturally than it is on the nose or palate. Not that there is no perceptible oak here but compared to (random examples) Nicolas Jay or for that matter Jadot white burgs, the oak impact on the flavor does not stand out.

Very nice stuff, as always the price point makes this tough for me to enthusiastically repurchase - about the same amount as this base WV blend gets you into the White Walnut Estate estate wines, and this is more expensive than any Goodfellow chard save Richard’s and the odd named barrel cuvee. Only $20 more gets you into most of the Walter Scott svd’s other than X-Novo. Always the pickle with Seth’s excellent wines.

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2023 White Walnut Estate Apple Field Vineyard Chardonnay

This is very good, though I think some time in bottle will improve the wine. The wine is quite reductive right now with lots of gunpowder, flint, and steel. The impression overall is similar to Chablis raised in wood (though of course the wine went through malolactic). In addition to reductive tones there are still perfumey florals on the nose. The wine has a light medium body and fairly high acidity. There is some tropical and stone fruit character to the wine but the overall impression is primarily quite chalky and stony, non fruit elements dominate right now.

As with prior tasting, the wine finishes very long with a beautiful toasted hazelnut and almond flavor that is totally unique. So distinctive and intense.

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2022 Lingua Franca Estate

Has always been one of my favorites. Flinty reduction, citrus, long finish. Drank it with bread and cheese after a Mullineux Old Vines White.

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Apparently it’s a Chardonnay heavy weekend.

2023 Violin Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Didn’t like it at first, too cold, felt weirdly buttery, couldn’t hold up to spicy Ethiopian food at all. Warmed up, opened up, more acid, more citrus/green apple, liked it far more at cellar temp vs fridge. Would like to drink again with a simple white fish.

2023 Buena Notte Panna Cotta
This is what you want with spicy Ethiopian beef and lentils. Savory, funky, oxidative, I liked it far more with this food than I have previously.

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