TN: 2005 Bethel Heights Chardonnay Estate Grown (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley)

WINE TALK
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2005 Bethel Heights Chardonnay Estate Grown - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (12/10/2009)
Triumphant! I don’t drink Chardonnay that much, but picked this up at the winery sometime last year and forgot about it. A punchy and delightfully tart nose of ripe lemon and loam promise something interesting. From the first sip, I knew I not only had something interesting, but something outstanding. Think lemon. Lemon in every form, ade to squeeze bottle to fresh to drop, bringing an acidity that’s omnipresent but not omnipotent. On top of that add grapefruit, a touch sweet to counteract whatever bitterness the lemon may bring. In the background you’ll encounter notes of macadamia and brazil nuts, with toffee and popcorn too.

I do like Oregon Pinots, but prefer those from elsewhere. However, I have never had a Chardonnay to top this (with Rhys being an equal, I’d say). Just wow. I like some Chablis, but have never taken to white Burgs. Chards from California I do find attractive initially, but they tend to flab out and I have a tough time finishing a bottle. This - well, this I was licking out of the glass.

And best yet, IT WAS ONLY $25. I will certainly have to try more Oregon Chards, beginning with later vintages of this guy. Hopefully they’ve kept the magic. (95 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Great note. I for one, would like to see a bigger commitment to Chardonnay coming out of Oregon. I guess it’s just to hard to nudge the Pinot vines aside.

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Wow. That is some serious love. People really should explore more Oregon Chards. They are beautiful, cheap and can age. Problem is they often get drank too soon where they haven’t yet unpacked the goods.

Thanks for the note on this. Them Bethel folks are legends.

Jason

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Especially when a considerable amount of chardonnay was grafted over to pinot noir in the past 10-15 years. Tough to make the call to perform the equivalent of a vasectomy reversal.

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Bob,

Haven’t some new clones of chardonnay been planted in the past few yrs-at least that is what Mark
at SI told me a few yrs ago-if I understood him correctly. He was really high on the new clones as I believe the old clone was a Ca. one and therefore not as well suited to the OR climate.

How did the Ayres taste on your pre Thanksgiving weekend?

mark

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I think the old clone was Wente, and the new planting is 76.

-Al

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The “old” clone was mostly UCD 108, which struggles to ripen here, along with some Wente and some Draper. Fact is though, 108 CAN ripen in Oregon, but you have to follow the same rigorous vineyard practices as with pinot noir - leaf pulling, green pruning, shoot positioning . . . the whole bit. One only has to taste the chardonnays produced by Witness Tree from their old plantings of 108 to see this, along with some of Eric Hamacher’s earlier chardonnays, which were all 108.

That said, almost all the newer plantings of chardonnay are “Dijon” clones, 75, 76, 78, 95 and 96 but the backbone of Westrey’s outstanding chardonnays comes from the old plantings of Draper they resurrected in their Oracle vineyard.

Mark - the Ayres wines are outstanding.

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Oregon PN is usually very good and frequently great, but for me it never matches the heights of PN from California or Burgundy. This could be the perfect place for Chard, however. But it doesn’t appear as if the press agrees, judging from scores or hype. Oh well, more for me - I can save $50 a bottle over what I was going to pay to buy Kistler…

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Mouth watering note, Nick. And interesting. The several times that I have tasted at the winery, I have perfered their unoaked chardonnay over the Estate (oaked). Thus, I have not had one of these with several years of age on it. Sounds like I need to buy a couple and put them away for awhile.

I fully agree with the other general comments about Oregon chard. I had a 2004 J.Christopher Willamette Valley Chardonnay this past May that was fantastic.

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Jeez- we gots a buncha PNs (Murto mainly, and some of them thar Reislings)…Gotta get Bryan to get us some of dis good stuff…

Thanks for this report. Helps me spend my wife’s money [truce.gif]