I really enjoy all of the recommendations in these columns and I would like to try some of these. Is there an easy way to know which of my local wine stores carry these specific wines?
A few years ago I sat at one of Portland's better wine bars one afternoon, before heading out for several days in Willamette, and endured a California Russian River Valley fan complaining that Oregon should be making more Chardonnay...because regions that grow Pinot Noir are naturally good for Chardonnay. He was particularly dismissive of the regions Pinot Gris (not because he'd tasted it...just generally dismissive of it as an idea). The region makes some fantastic Pinot Gris and Mr. Asimov's article doesn't do that tradition justice. Worse yet, it encourages a Chardonnay takeover of vineyards -- vineyards that would be better served sticking with their Pinot Gris. I love a good "tightly coiled" and acidic Chardonnay, but that doesn't mean I need every region to plant/graft the grape because of it's high price-per-ton value. One of the best things about the Willamette region is that it's not California and it's not Burgundy and it does its own thing. I wish Mr. Asimov had profiled its Pinot Gris instead.
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Good grief. What makes a Chardonnay “tightly coiled”?
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Oregon winemakers, please don't make the same mistakes California chardonnay producers have made (and continue to make). Just Say NO to excessively oaked, buttery chardonnay.
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Great Pino Gris as well!
So are these pricepoints going to lead to good sales? I have not had les charmes or les genievres recently, but both are under $15 still. Oyster time, I guess.
Where Mr. Asimov writes: "Some tried pinot gris, but few took it very seriously" -- in factm there are quite a few fine Oregon pinot gris wines. In my area alone, King Estate, Benton Lane, Capitello, are fine producers; among many others. I wonder how Mr. Asimov could be so misinformed.
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Willamette Vineyards also makes a lovely Pinot Gris at a good price as well. Dorothy and John (former WSJ) have featured them.
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To state the obvious: California ruined Chardonnay.
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New Yorkers will find many of the qualities that make these Oregon Chardonnays so nice to drink closer to home in the Finger Lakes. Many producers are finding that "liveliness, energy, tension or thrust to give the wine momentum and vibrancy, allowing it to refresh, while showing other characteristics like flavors of herbs and flowers or discernible minerality."
Having a local gem comes with another advantage: the price does not carry the substantial Oregon premium.
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I always enjoy Eric’s pieces. I do wish he would include a note about alcohol levels on these wines. Many California Chardonnays clock in at 14% or higher which seems absurd to me. The beauty of French wines is their balance. This is often overlooked in California. I hope the Oregon wines achieve something in that regard.
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Oregon wines, especially from the Willamette valley, are some of the best wines the country has to offer.
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The vines have a lot to do with the taste, but really, you can plant the exact same clone in a different soil and climate, and even with the same wine making techniques, it will taste exquisitely different. Soil matters.
I guess I’ll have to make a trip and try for myself.
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Wonderful to see our delicious Oregon chardonnays featured in a national article. We were just visiting Soter Vineyards last week - I encourage visitors to this and the many other beautiful vineyards throughout this area in Oregon. It's an easy car ride from Portland and now that it's summer you'll have beautiful clear days to see the mountains too. Plus the big bypass in Dundee has been completed so traffic should be better. It's really Paradise out here!
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The impact of Chardonnay clonal selection shouldn’t be minimized. Today’s renaissance built upon disappointment with most early plantings of the “Davis 108” clone. Although not “native”, as no Chardonnay is native to North America, this long established grape adapted to California climate. Planted in Oregon by modern wine pioneers, it lack balance. If you could get it ripe and flavorful, it dropped acidity. If you aimed for acidity it lacked character.
Alas, a few historical exceptions. Ken Wright (then of Panther Creek) and Rick Small (Woodward Canyon) crafted beautiful, balanced Chardonnay from an identical site Celilo Vineyard on Underwood Mountain, Washington—now part of the Columbia Gorge AVA. The Chardonnay grown at Celilo was a Wente clone. Acclaim also emerged at Bethel Heights from their Wente clone block. These gems within a field of general disappointment led towards new clonal selections sourced directly from Burgundy. David Adelsheim spurred an effort in the late 1980’s, resulting in the acclaimed Dijon Clone series.
Pinot Gris became a white focus after early disappointment with growing Chardonnay. Chardonnay plants were even grafted over to Pinot Gris during that period. However, as new growers tended blocks of the Dijon Clone Chardonnay, their success expanded into enthusiasm by old and new producers. It takes decades for wine districts to change directions. The winemakers of Oregon did not just wake up and decide to pay attention to their Chardonnay.
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Celilo is a truly striking vineyard site--and has made very good wine for forty years or so. Arterberry in Dundee makes fine old-ish vine chardonnay too.
Nice to see that producers have figured out that there is no point in copying either Napa or the Cote d'Or. They have had their difficulties over the years, for sure. Anyone remember the great confusion over Pinot Blanc that turned out to be Melon de Bourgogne?
http://www.melondebourgogne.com/history/historyinor.html
Oregon Chardonnays are indeed becoming an amazing value for lovers of the Burgundian style.
Too bad me and my friends from an online wine community, wine afficionados and big spenders, don't buy any more U.S. made wines since your leader is such an insufferable buffoon.
The movement seems to be growing, tell your wine grower pals...
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Now, I only read about fine wines online. Half a century ago, I enjoyed several select bottles thanks to the wine guy from the house that supplied Fine Art openings. He was always displeased with any bottle he was tasting when one of us guards came by and he asked us to please take it away and dispose of it. We did :) And, truck fump 8^D
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One word: tariffs.
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A majority of Oregonians detest Trump. Both of our US Senators are Democrats. The election was stolen. What do you expect Oregon's vintners to do about it? Drink what you like. But how can you savor its aroma after cutting off your nose?
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Washington has been our alternative to California whites. Good to know Oregon is growing chardonnay now. Any alternative to California's blockbuster, all singing, all dancing, chards is welcome.
Looking at various USGS subsurface maps of the Willamette area there does not seem to be much limestone present. Washington state has large deposits in it's wine regions. The terroir of limestone is prominent in French chardonnay; which argues that Oregon chardonnay will never be in the "French" style.
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We are full-time RVers, currently parked outside McMinnville in the heart of the Willamette Valley. We've spent a couple of days visiting wineries, and enjoyed both the pinot noirs and the Chardonnays. I just wish this article had been published last week while we were on our way here, as opposed to the day before we're planning to leave. Oh, well, there's always the trip south in the fall...
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Mr. Asimov,
You mention the use of oak for these chardonnays. Are they all oaked or are some stainless steel only? It makes a very large difference in flavor profile and this is useful information, especially for those of us who detest oakiness in wine, and are also allergic to it.
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I've never heard of anyone who was allergic to oak pollen being allergic to wine that was aged in an oak barrel. Is that really a thing?
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We definitely need to know if these wines are oaked or unoaked. In my view, unoaked is the only way to go with food. Usually for food it ‘s ABC -Anything But Chardonnay unless it’s unoaked unless you’re serving lobster.
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"especially for those of us who detest oakiness"
"Detest" in this case, equals allergy
Just returned from a few days of Willamette Valley wine tasting. Normally not a Chardonnay fan, but did a food and wine pairing at Fairsing Vineyard in the Yamhill area and became a convert. The 2016 Chardonnay from Dijon clones was outstanding.
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Years ago I tasted Chardonnay from the Willamette Valley made from imported "Dijon Clone" grafted vines. I preferred it to that made from native Chardonnay vines which, as I recall, were said to have evolved over time from their original stock.
Does anyone know whether the difference in imported and native vines still holds, and whether it is the cause of the improvement in Oregon Chardonnay?
I am thankful to the founding families of Oregon wine for planting vines, and to the succeeding and current generation of farmers and winemakers who are working creatively, and passionately to produce Oregon and Willamette Valley wines which offer an authentic and eloquent voice in the world of fine wine. It started as an exploration of possibility, and we still have that mindset. Plant material is a part of it, but it is only a part of the whole picture.
Dijon clones are a tool, not the reinvention of the wheel.
I think Chardonnay quality in the Willamette Valley has improved most rapidly as a function of how much thoughtfulness, patience and interest both farmers and winemakers give the grape, the site, the vintage. We are aiming higher and we have never had more practice and more feeback! The greater the attention and passion poured in, the more visceral and palpable it is to the world.
Thanks to everyone who is drinking Oregon wines, Willamette Valley wines and especially those who believe in Oregon Chardonnay and Willamette Valley Chardonnay!
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