DAVID WILLIAMS WAS SIMILARLY


ENTHUSIASTIC: “A RUN OF SUCCULENT, WELL- MADE WINES […] THAT MORE THAN HOLD THEIR OWN IN THE GLOBAL CHARDONNAY CONTEXT”


natural balances, with an effortlessly carried inner amplitude. They are admirably unemphatic and sympathetic at table. Anthony Rose, too, admired their “attractive purity and concentration of aroma and of flavor,” and their “good freshness, balance, and immediate drinkability, without excessive acidity or indeed any hard edges,” both suggesting “winemakers with the confidence of knowing what they are trying to achieve—and, for the most part, achieving it.” David Williams was similarly enthusiastic: “A run of succulent, well-made wines […] that more than hold their own in the global Chardonnay context.” It’s worth mentioning, perhaps, that this was a tasting that inspired rare agreement among all three tasters; there were far fewer significant score disparities on our sheets than is usual in our tastings. Not everything was successful, of course. Winemaking mishaps were sometimes in evidence, as was evidence for a battle of the Willamette soul. Is West Coast opulence part of the Chardonnay identity here, or might early picking, manifested in a rigor that


sometimes flirts with austerity, constitute the nobler path? Wines in the former style could be clumsy and obvious on occasion, while those crafted leanly sometimes suggested Sauvignon Blanc or Aligoté more than Chardonnay. All our most admired wines seemed to explore the middle ground. (Only one wine in the top nine was labeled with less than 13% ABV.) What, finally, of the differences between all of those nested AVAs? “I wouldn’t say,” summarized Rose, “that subregional variation was quite as clear-cut to me as the difference in styles in Burgundy, for instance, as between the warmer Mâconnais and cooler Chablis.” Agreed, but note the clear difference in latitude; even Mâcon lies at a higher latitude than Portland itself (in the far north of the Willamette), let alone Chablis, so we shouldn’t expect the pulse of climate to play quite such a prominent role here. What was striking was that nearly half (five) of the tasting’s top 12 wines, based on compounded scores, were indeed vinified from fruit grown in Eola-Amity vineyards, bearing out specialist Simon Davies’s admiration for Chardonnay from this AVA.


THIS WAS A TASTING THAT INSPIRED RARE AGREEMENT AMONG ALL THREE TASTERS; THERE WERE FAR FEWER SIGNIFICANT SCORE DISPARITIES THAN IS USUAL IN OUR TASTINGS


ANDREW JEFFORD’S TOP WINES


Domaine Serene Chardonnay Evenstad Reserve 2019 96


Domaine Drouhin Arthur Chardonnay Dundee Hills Willamette Valley 2020 95


Morgen Long Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2019 95


00 Wines VGW Chardonnay 2018 94


Beaux Frères Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2020 94


Ponzi Vineyards Single Vineyard Avellana Laurelwood District Chardonnay 2019 94 Antica Terra Aequorin Chardonnay 2019 93


Ponzi Vineyards Chardonnay Laurelwood District 2019 93


WillaKenzie Estate Estate Cuvée Chardonnay 2019 93


Cristom Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2019 92


Crowley Four Winds Chardonnay Willamette Valley 2019 92 Flaneur Wines Bon Vivant Chardonnay 2019 92 Lingua Franca Sisters Chardonnay 2019 92


Walter Scott Freedom Hill Vineyard Chardonnay 2019 92


Abbott Claim Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley 2019 91


Adelsheim Staking Claim Chardonnay Chehalem Mountains Willamette Valley 2019 91


Grochau Cellars Chardonnay Brick House Vineyard Ribbon Ridge 2017 91


Left Coast Estate Truffle Hill Chardonnay 2020 91


Roserock Drouhin Oregon Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley 2020 91


AVERAGE AND RANGE OF SCORES Average


Range Tasting AJ AR DW


90 89 90 90


80–96 80–96 84–94 84–94


THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023 | 211


OREGON CHARDONNAY


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