Bye-Bye, Burgundy: 7 Oregon Chardonnays You Should Be Drinking Right Now
Chardonnay has been grown and made in Oregon’s Willamette Valley since the 1970s, but its profile has definitely been raised as wine lovers who discovered how wonderful the region’s Pinot Noir is turned their attention to the other Burgundian variety that also grows there. Although the grape got off to a shaky start in Willamette, in the last 20 years or so we have seen a definitive increase in quality as leaner, more mineral, and less oak laden styles have taken over the market. It was also around this time that French families began buying land, planting French clones, fermenting in stainless steel and concrete tanks and using oak aging more judiciously. Subsequently wine collectors discovered Oregon’s potential for making wines that rival those made in Burgundy, Chardonnay’s birthplace.
Chardonnay takes its name from a village in the Maconnais region of Burgundy. It is a result of a cross between Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc and has a close DNA relation to Aligoté, the third grape of Burgundy. It was first grown around 1098 at the Abbaye de Citeaux which had land holdings in the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, but it didn’t become popular until the 1400s. It is now grown all over the world in just about every country that produces wine, but it is truly at its best in cooler climates such as Burgundy, Margaret River, and Oregon. Here are seven excellent examples from Oregon that have caught our attention this week, some of them are clean and crisp with little or no oak ageing while others are appropriately aged in oak, allowing the delightful fruit flavors to shine through.
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Domaine Serene 2021 Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay Dundee Hills Willamette Valley Oregon
Named for proprietor Ken and Grace Evenstad’s daughter, Serene, Domaine Serene is one of the Willamette Valley’s best known Chardonnay producers and certainly one of our favorites. Although Ken died a few years back, Grace continues to run the winery as well as donating her wine and her time to a variety of charitable organizations around the world. Her 2021 Evenstad Chardonnay is deep straw colored with aromas of lemon curd, citrus blossom, and Bartlett pear. It is round and full bodied in the palate with flavors of pineapple, Granny Smith apple, and wet river rock with a bright burst of acidity in the finish.
Bergström 2021 Sigrid Chardonnay Willamette Valley Oregon
Karen and John Bergström started their eponymous winery in 1999 and today their son Josh wears multiple hats and functions as the winemaker and vineyard manager. He studied his craft in Burgundy and today tends to the estate’s 84 acres of land. His 2021 Sigrid Chardonnay, named for his Swedish grandmother, is fermented in French oak barrels and ages on the lees for 18 months. It has aromas of toasted almond, white peach, and vanilla bean and flavors of lightly buttered toast, Fuji apple, and caramel flan.
Beaux Fréres 2019 Chardonnay Yamhill-Carlton District, Willamette Valley Oregon
The term Beaux Fréres translates as “brothers in law,” and this unique Willamette Valley winery is so named because wine salesman turned vintner Michael Etzel borrowed money from his sister’s husband, the renowned wine critic Robert Parker, to purchase an 88-acre pig farm in 1986. Michael and his wife subsequently moved in with their three young sons and began planting Pinot Noir the following summer which was later joined by Chardonnay. Beaux Fréres 2019 Chardonnay is straw yellow in color with aromas of lemon curd, flan, and citrus pith with flavors of Bartlett pear, honeysuckle, and white peach.
00 Double Zero Wines 2021 EGW Chardonnay Willamette Valley Oregon
Founded by Chris Hermann and his wife Kathryn, Double Zero pays homage to Chris’s father Richard who emigrated to America and first worked as a tree trimmer in New Jersey. After earning his doctorate in forestry at Yale, Richard drove his wife Freya and their young son Chris across the United States to live in Oregon. Years later, Chris and Kathyrn make excellent Chardonnay from Dijon and Wente clones, and they say that EGW stands for extra good white. We couldn’t agree more; this excellent Chardonnay has aromas of ripe peach, freesia blossoms, and lemon zest that lead to flavors of mandarin peel, white peach, and freshly cut apricot.
Lingua Franca 2021 Bunker Hill Chardonnay Willamette Valley Oregon
Lingua Franca is a joint venture between master sommelier Larry Stone and winemakers Dominique Lafon, and Thomas Savre. The vineyards are positioned at 300 feet of elevation and have three types of soils perfect for the cultivation of Chardonnay: Jory, Gelderman, and Nekia. This elegant Chardonnay exhibits nice minerality with a slight touch of salinity and aromas and flavors of green apple, grapefruit pith, with just a touch of lemon curd in the finish.
Tan Fruit 2021 Oak Grove Chardonnay Willamette Valley Oregon
While most of Jim Maresh’s wines made under his family label Arterberry Maresh are produced in very small quantities using estate-grown grapes, his more accessible Tan Fruit brand is made with grapes he purchases from other growers. An excellent 2021 growing season noted for dry conditions offered lower yields of extremely high-quality fruit. The Oak Grove Chardonnay is medium straw colored with hints of green reflections at the rim and aromas of Anjou pear, vanilla flan, and Fuji apple. Medium bodied with flavors of white peach and lemon zest it has a nice blast of acidity in the finish.
Résonance 2021 Découverte Vineyard Chardonnay Dundee Hills Willamette Valley Oregon
Découverte is Résonance’s second estate, where only 2.5 of its 18 acres of vines are dedicated to Chardonnay. The vineyard rests at 600 feet of altitude with vines planted in volcanic soils that impart a smoky mineral characteristic to the finished wine. The winemaking team reported a perfect vintage with sunny, dry days in the spring and two weeks of cool nights in September preceding harvest. This elegant wine introduces itself with aromas of lemon pith, citrus blossom, and a whiff of garrigue. It transitions to flavors of orange flower, lemon curd, Gala apple, and a touch of smoke and granite in the finish.
