Andrew JeffordAJ | Anthony Rose AR | David Williams DW
oak, bringing a degree of complexity, and behind it the required grapefruity acidity for a well-balanced, stylish dry white. | 92 DW | Quite pure and direct, but there’s delicacy to the racy acidity. Clean-cut citrus and apple, and a gentle swell and burst of fruit concentration. Incisive finish. Still young. | 90
00 Wines Seven Springs Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley 2017 (12.9% ABV)
| 90
AJ | Pale silver-gold, but the glints are beginning to be more gold than silver. Quite a lot of wood here; it has the upper hand over what is nonetheless attractively creamy fruit. That’s what you’ll find on the palate, too: a slightly clumsy, foursquare wine, with plenty to deliver. I’m not sure the oak will ease with time. | 87 AR | A rich gold, with a hint of cloudiness suggesting no filter. This is fresh and appealing, with an underlay of spicy, nutty oak, while in the glass there’s plenty of stone-fruit flavor purity in a juicy-textured, fresh, and balanced whole, which, showing little age after five years, is impressive. | 91 DW | Lots of sweet, toasty oak, in a lush, full-bodied style; almost overwhelmingly rich, but stops just short of overbearing. There’s some life here, as well as winemaking “work,” the creamy finish carried by fluent acidity. | 91
Abbott Claim Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley 2019 (13% ABV)
| 90
AJ | Pale, bright silver-gold. Marked “cool-climate Chardonnay” aromas of green apple and green reeds, with some fermentative notes, too. A little oatcake richness behind. Taut and icy on the palate, with complexity from the green apple and reed notes, which come through to the palate from the aromas. Still very young. A good wine that will show better after a year or two in the bottle. | 91 AR | This is mid-gold in color, the aromas a tad indistinct. In the mouth, it shows the trappings of an appealing dry white, with nicely juicy texture and fresh acidity, but it just lacks the same sort of bluntness of definition that is displayed by the aromas. | 88 DW | A gentle nose opens to subtle blossomy and peach notes. The palate is peachy and pastel- shaded, soft, and harmonious—mouth-filling but with a precise and focused finish. | 92
Adelsheim Ribbon Ridge Chardonnay Ribbon Springs Vineyard Willamette Valley 2019 (12.5% ABV)
| 90
AJ | Pale and silvery, with some green glints. Lots of citrus here—almost reminds me of Margaret River. Some coffee-cream complexities beneath, too. A zesty, pithy palate. Moderate concentration but impressive purity; very delicate lees richness. Bright, juicy wine, which can take scrutiny. | 90 AR | Pale lemony gold in color. This shows immediate freshness and a degree of class, with a stylish veneer of lees and oak working in tandem, an impression conveyed on tasting. Nice purity of flavor that’s not overwrought, carried gently by a degree of fresh lees and nutty oak underpinned by
juicy acidity in a well-balanced crowd-pleasing dry white. | 91 DW | Classically styled, with an attractive, toasted- nut quality; layered and intense, with some citrus tones and a hint of struck-match flintiness. Just a little foursquare and cumbersome. | 88
Brick House Cascadia Chardonnay 2017 [Ribbon Ridge Chehalem Mountaints Willamette Valley] (13.2% ABV)
| 90
AJ | Pale, bright and silvery; silver glints. The fruits here are slightly tired, lacking finesse and lift. Not faulty, however, and still attractive in their own right. On the palate, an over-forceful, rather foursquare, and decidedly acidic wine, though eminently drinkable. | 86 AR | Pale in color, this is pleasantly fresh and appley in aromas. There is a nice, juicy sweetness of stone fruit and apple flavor in the glass, maintaining a lively freshness that helps to bring about a satisfyingly balanced dry white. | 91 DW | A touch wild/feral/natural but not excessively so; this is mostly about the really pure, tumbling, juicy, sweet pear and subtly aromatic chamomile notes. Juicy and succulent and energetic. A pleasure. | 92
Cristom Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2019 (13% ABV)
| 90
AJ | Pale to mid, bright silver-gold. Quiet, restrained, but enticing aromas of classic Oregonian delicacy: pastel orchard fruits and understated lees fullness. Beckons you into the glass. Intense, bright, and driven on the palate, without an ounce of excess fat on it, but not a skinny wine for all that. This is svelte yet deep, with fine weight, depth, density, and concentration of brimming, resonant fruit. Impressive, convincing wine, with plenty of cellar years ahead, though definitely the drier, leaner style of Oregon excellence. Just a touch abrupt on the finish. | 92 AR | Pale gold in color, this lacks a little freshness and definition in its aromatic profile, and while quite attractive to taste, with pleasantly juicy acidity and appley flavors, it’s also a little lacking in intensity and depth. | 87 DW | Elegant and restrained, with subtle floral notes and gentle sweet apple and a trickle of fresh, ripe acidity. Good, honest wine. | 92
Flaneur Wines La Belle Promenade Chardonnay 2019 [Chehalem Mountains Willamette Valley] (12.8% ABV)
| 90
AJ | Bright pale gold with green-silver glints. Creamy and full, with just a hint of popcorn; the fruits, by contrast, are rather reticent aromatically. Fields of grain evoked after a little time in the glass. A wine with impressive depth and drive, and there is plenty of classic orchard fruit on the palate, even though we couldn’t smell it particularly. Bright, pungent, and broad, and the lemon, apple, and grapefruit drive and build the palate right to the very end. | 90 AR | Behind the mid-gold color of this youthful Chardonnay, the aromas come across as a tad flat and lacking in freshness. It’s better when you taste
the wine, which is quite savory, thanks to an acidity that’s not immediately obvious when you first nose it. Overall, though, there’s a lack of definition in this one-dimensional white. | 87 DW | The sweetshop and the bakery: buttery, creamy, but not at all in the hackneyed 1990s “New World” style, because there’s plenty of energy and crisp autumnal fruit here, too—some sense of the “vertical,” as well as breadth and depth. Good length. | 92
Ponzi Vineyards Chardonnay Laurelwood District 2019 [Chehalem Mountains Willamette Valley] (13.2% ABV)
| 90
AJ | Bright, pale gold; silver-gold glints. Fresh, clean, sappy, and sound. Lovely oat-flake and cold cream, though not a huge aromatic weight of fruit behind. Spot-on, for all that. Sappy and long, with a fine mesh of primary fruits and secondary, barrel- fermentation-derived complexities. An assured and convincing wine, with impressive length, depth, and drive. Would drink beautifully with food. | 93 AR | Pale lemon in color. This lacks aromatic definition, and rather the same goes for the quality of the fruit itself, which is on the evolved side, with enough acidity to keep the whole thing honest, but I’m not getting the anticipated excitement or definition here. | 88 DW | Restraint and a cool feel, pithy and tangy, tight but good concentration, with a burst of citrus. Mouthwateringly Chablisien. Lingering, clean, stony finish. | 88
Evening Land Seven Springs Estate La Source Chardonnay 2019 [Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley] (12.9% ABV)
| 89
AJ | Pale green-silver wine, with some green-silver glints. An ample aromatic profile. Just a little less pristine than some; the fruits lack some freshness and poise. This is a quibble, really: overall, the wine is attractive, exuberant, and more aromatically generous than many. Brisk and lively, without being skinny on the palate. There, too, it isn’t quite aromatically impeccable—but the length and drive and levels of richness are spot-on, and the fruits really sing here. | 89 AR | This is an appealing, clear, pale lemon in color. Quiet at this stage in its aromas; pleasantly juicy to taste in an easy-drinking style that’s refreshing enough without quite ascending the heights of a second dimension. | 88 DW | Very ripe and generous but not over the top. A softly engaging palate, filled with stone and orchard fruit of various kinds and suavely comforting oak. Decent freshness, too, carrying everything to the finish with a touch of toffee and just a bit of alcoholic heat. | 90
Evening Land Seven Springs Estate Summum Chardonnay 2019 [Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley] (13.3% ABV)
| 89
AJ | Bright, glinting silver-gold in color. Fresh and sappy scents, but the orchard fruits are stylistically a little clumsier and less refined than the best of its peers. Juicy and fresh and delivers on the regional promise: plenty of poised, classic fruit.
THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023 | 215
OREGON CHARDONNAY
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