2009 Brick House Chardonnay Cascadia- USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (1/27/2012)
Pale gold color. Evokes honeydew melon and tropical fruit like guava; along with river rock, floral and honey notes. Just hints of butterscotch too. That’s just the bouquet- it drinks with a neutral creamy richness that the fruit and hints of spice glide across. Stitched together with balanced acid. Lingering mouthwatering finish. Exceptional on its own or with food. Develops after opening- ageworthy. 13.6% ABV. (94 pts.)
Thanks for the note, Matt. I have a bunch of this but haven’t tried one in six months (at that point the oak haven’t fully integrated). Sounds like it may be time to give another one a try.
Josh, Doug’s Chardonnays are pretty much a no-brainer. I think you could find this around PDX somewhere. If not, the 2010 should be superb - I think better than 2009. I’ve had it out of barrel several times, and got to taste the components that will make up the final blend as well. I expect I’ll be loading up on that one as well.
I tasted from barrel earlier, and from tank in December. Generally Doug tries to blend the best wine he can out of the component parts which becomes the Cascadia (this usually comes from a specific block of his Chardonnay vines), and the rest becomes the regular Chardonnay. Obviously this formula may change slightly if something doesn’t fit (to my palate the Cascadia always seems a little richer than the regular). We played around with blends when I was last there, and the Cascadia “blend” was superb.