2016 00 Wines Chardonnay EGW- USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (5/29/2020)
My first go with 00…and the EGW(Extra Good White). Been itching to try one of these ever since I picked up some a couple years ago…what restraint! Been on a Walter Scott kick of late, which I’m enjoying immensely, so I wanted to see how these much pricier wines would behave in a similar space. This 16 is a blend of grapes from the Bunker Hill and Black Walnut vineyards…made in the “Black Chardonnay” method, as is all their Chards, and is corked up with a long natural cork ala pycm. Wonderful flint strike reduction right off the bat! Much more substantial than any WS wine I’ve had(have not had x-voto)…really seems rich, yet it is bright and pure fruited with wonderful lifted citrus energy. The nose is GORGEOUS…with that match strike, vanilla butter, white flower florals, lees, faint butterscotch and barrel spice. Definitely old school Coche right there! The fruit seems more substantial and creamier than the WS’s crystalline style…the macerated skins at work, creating not really a full bodied wine, more medium, yet feels rich and full of extraction…but with the utmost clarity, freshness and lift. Fruit is pure yellow pitted fruits…alive lemon and tangerine citrus…saline crushed sea shells and chalky flint…long tangy, chalky, and spicy finish with wafts of reduction all balanced in total harmony. Another simply amazing white burgundy killer here from OR.! Very intrigued to see how these, as well as the WS wines, will age after 10 or so years. For now…I’m becoming a HUGE fan here! (96 pts.)
There is no substitute for the GREAT whites of burgundy…if you want burgundy then you go to burgundy! But there seems to be something special there in OR going on with some producers who have hearts in burgundy and feet in the soils of OR. It’s intriguing…and so far from what I have tasted…their hearts are winning.
I like the WS pricing better…the only thing that is keeping me from going all in with the 00 is the price. Need more history and terroir to command those grand cru like digits.
Yes, Envoyer was offering their 2017 corton charlemagne for $325. A bit aspirational since I got my 2017 PYCM corton charlemagne (and most other 2017 corton charlemagne) for less.
I tell you what…after having the 18 Walter Scott X-Novo, along with the leftovers of 00 last night…WHAT A KILLER BLIND TASTING with those two wines…a PYCM, Roulot, and a Coche!! Would be SO fun…and my guess…shocking!
Opened a 17 VGW Chardonnay last night. Showed really well. I really love their whites. Mostly buy just the VGW with the occasional EGW as that’s all I can afford.
Hi Robert - thanks for opening this wine. Honestly, this wine has improved with age, even over the summer. In late May, it was drinking well too. Lots of folks were excited about it. If you want to learn more, read about our director of winemaking Pierre Millemann in a recent Jasper Morris report. Pierre is awesome and it’s his first major review / article. Cheers, as I pop this bottle
