Opened 2023 Walter Scott Chardonnay X-Novo Vineyard and followed it over 4 days. Very reductive and coiled on the first night, but after a couple hours some subtle lime atop oak and white floral aromas emerge. Took until day 3 for the reduction to fade and integrate to show what was hiding beneath it on the palate with flavors of pear, yellow apple, limoncello, sandalwood, and a kiss of vanilla on the back end. The wine’s lighter body and gentle and refreshing acidity make this pretty quaffable this vintage, though there just an edge of richness and viscosity on the finish. Lots of potential clearly, but I wouldn’t touch another bottle for several years.
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Way to take one for the team! I think mine are buried for at least 5 years.
A recent 2017 Freedom Hill Chard was not quite as terrific as the 16 I had last month but still a damn fine Chardonnay, as my boy Patrick Bateman might say. Walter Scott through and through. I’d say drink 'em if you got 'em.
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Yeah, but what were Paul Allen’s thoughts….? 
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2022 Cuvée Anne. Very good, and to my palate rather better than the 2021. Zingy lemon/lime aromatics with light sesame reduction, chalky minerality, rounder mid full body. A little less texturally exciting — softer/fatter, less electric — than the Hyland or Freedom Hill. But not terribly far off otherwise from those SVDs. Nice wine.
Just fyi for the Walter Scott fans, GrandVin has the Walter Scott Freedom Hill, Justice and Koosah, 2022 vintage PNs on closeout sale for $55 each. Not many left.
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Put these two up against some similarly priced white burgs. Both showed very well and were more exciting and lively than the burgs. Tasted blind, tasters were very split on which they preferred (burg tended to offer more palette weight and length, but less complexity and nose), and it really came down to personal style preferences.
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2022 Cuvee Anne Chardonnay
Shared with my son, who said…“Dad, I am starting to enjoy wine more and more…”
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Been bad lately and curiosity got the best of me. Note that both of these saw a 3 hour decant, and were drank a few days apart. Both wines were excellent but the Freedom Hill was next level. I honestly think it’s better than the X Novo (at least at this stage). There just seems to be significantly more aromatic complexity on the Freedom Hill. Maybe that will come with time on the X Novo though.
The X Novo was aromatically quite shut, but demonstrated that beautiful kaleidoscope of fruit with a long spicy ginger finish framed by a beautiful chalky structure. Stunning concentration on the palate.
Freedom Hill had Smoked lemon preserve, matchstick, sesame, and charred brioche on the nose. Laser beam of acid followed by chalky minerals and candied ginger with a finish that drives on and on. Wow.
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WALTER SCOTT VS. BURGUNDY - Yang's Kitchen (5/9/2025)
A single blind tasting of Walter Scott library releases purchased from WineBerserkers BD16, versus various Burgundy producers. A trite and perhaps overused comparison (since everyone agrees that they don't need to, and shouldn't be, the same), but interesting to benchmark styles and contrast.
- 2012 Walter Scott Chardonnay Vojtilla - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Tasted in a single blind – Walter Scott v. Burgundy - purchased from WineBerserker's BD16 auction.
Erica's notes: 1 acre of 1990 vine planted from the same vine stock as Seven Springs. Tucked in Parrett Mountain in the Vojtilla’s front yard manicured as precisely as a bonsai tree. 50 cases bottled.
Tasting notes: The bottle was surprisingly advanced. The cork broke on opening, and it didn’t feel like DIAM based on the texture/density of what I've typically opened? It doesn’t seem like it was premoxed (it was still drinkable), but just not as fresh as we were expecting. Quite interesting to observe the stylistic evolution of Walter Scott’s Chardonnays as well. This didn’t feel like it had the reductive quality of the later wines but perhaps age has to do with it as well.
Blinded against 2010 William Fevre Bougros - tied/mixed outcome, not quite sure there was a clear winner here. (90 points)
- 2010 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Quite lean and approachable on opening (pale straw yellow). The first year that Fevre switched to DIAM for the Bougros, and it was quite impressive how fresh/sharp this bottle remained despite being older than the Votjilla.
Given that there are not a lot of data points on older DIAM bottlings in the market, I think this is a positive one in terms of still allowing for wines to age (albeit at a slower pace), and that it’s much less of a Russian Roulette where you don't have to worry about premox. (90 points)
- 2022 Coche-Dury Bourgogne Blanc - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc
Coche….. is Coche. Despite being just a Bourgogne Blanc, this is very complex and layered – concentrated white peach both on the palate and on the nose. Oak feels very deft/restrained despite being at a young age, and just continues to hum along even a few hours in. The white wine of the tasting and perhaps not a fair comparison here since this is significantly priced above any of the comparable wines tasted. The level of complexity here is significantly above what the name belies. I brought a gun to a knife fight? (94 points)
- 2019 Walter Scott Chardonnay The Rock Salt - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Erica's Notes: A single 350-liter barrel bottled for its mineral, salty quality. Freedom Hill Vineyard with extended lees contact at 16 months in barrel and 2 months in tank. 37 cases bottled.
Tasting Notes: Compared to the normal Freedom Hill barreling, this is surprisingly less reductive on a relative note. There is clearly minerality and salinity here though – less concentration and complexity than the Coche, but this is very much delicious in its own right. Still quite fresh and vibrant with no real signs of advanced aging. (91 points)
- 2011 Domaine Rossignol Trapet Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
Meant to blind this with the 2011 Dumb Ox, but I accidentally swapped the bottle but I don’t think it would have shown any differently. Tight as nails on opening – slow oxing in the bottle (and then in the glass) helped to expand it, but this didn’t feel ready for business yet. With time it might get there since there is a lot of stuffing here, but was outclassed by Walter Scott today.
If you open this now, give this more air (and probably a decant) - slow oxing for several hours didn't seem to move the wine much. (90 points)
- 2014 Walter Scott Pinot Noir Clos Des Oiseaux - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Erica’s notes: 2.8 acres of mixed clone block that Ken farmed personally with the support of Stirling Fox. The site sits between X Novo and the Cristom Jesse block in arguably the best neighborhood in the Valley. 275 cases bottled.
Tasting Notes: The red wine of the day out of all of the blinds – this was mature, and open from the get and go. Incredible concentration of strawberries on the palate and a wonderful balance between primary fruit and secondary notes. The tannins have integrated fantastically well and it was silky smooth. The table uniformly voted this as the wine out of the pairing, and quite a few votes for wine of the day. With some air/time in the glass, there is some barnyard/notes of brett, but very mild and not negatively impacting the wine at all. Would love to get my hands on more of these..... (93 points)
- 2011 Walter Scott Pinot Noir Dumb Ox - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
Erica's Notes: Single block of un-grafted Pommard planted in 1994. The block, nicknamed Dumb Ox, was named after Thomas Aquinas, a theologian philosopher known as both “brilliant” and “enigmatic”, Just like the few Pinots we were able to make from this site before the vines were pulled out.
Tasting Notes: Surprisingly, this didn’t feel as approachable as the Clos de Oiseaux in the previous flight – almost as if this wine is slightly shut down right now. Notes of earthiness/forest floor here, but fruit had receded more than what I would have expected. This still feels quite structured and perhaps tannins slightly rougher than the Clos de Oiseaux.
Meant to pair with the 2011 Rossignol-Trapet Chambertin but mixed them up in the chaos - maybe I am the Dumb Ox here... but found it ironic that both this/Rossignol-Trapet (from the same vintage) are showing to be quite shut down right now. (90 points)
- 2016 Jean-Marie Fourrier Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
Tasted more of the Fourrier style here than the vineyard – very intense cherry, slightly drying finish, but oak doesn’t feel intrusive. Not much of the Vosne spice here – perhaps slightly overshadowed by the style of the house, but still a good bottle. (90 points)
What a fun experience. I don't think there is a clear winner between Burgundy and Walter Scott, but Walter Scott is much better value for your money... the wine that outclassed Walter Scott was at least triple the price (but not triple the deliciousness).
Posted from CellarTracker
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FYI: For those in the Bay Area. Walter Scott is having a wine dinner at Hook & Line in Santa Cruz this Sunday. I never saw an email on this but found out through some local connections. They should promote these better as virtually none of my local wine friends were aware of this. Thankfully we found out and got tickets.
Tickets: Resy | Right This Way
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