Oregon Chardonnay

I’ve read several post recently about how good Oregon Chardonnay is these days. I’m looking for suggestions on producers and wines, leaner in style with good balance of acid and fruit. Love Chablis. Would like to pick up a couple of cases in advance of the fall. Maybe 6 each from 4 good wineries? Also, any insights on best vintages would be great. TIA.

So many options, a few to get you started:

Arterberry Maresh
Brickhouse
Cameron
Crowley
Eyrie
Goodfellow
Johan
Walter Scott

Goodfellow will never be mistaken for opulent (and that’s a good thing).

Thanks, that Pinot Gris they have looks interesting.

While on the pricey side of domestic Chardonnay, check out Lingua Franca. I think what Larry Stone, Thomas Savre, Dominique Lafon, and team are doing is very compelling.

. Thanks for the tip. That “Sisters” bottling is pricey at $90.

I just took a flier on a random 6-pack of Eyrie whites:

2016 Chasselas Doré
2014 Muscat Ottonel
2013 Melon de Bourgogne
2015 Chardonnay Estate
2015 Pinot gris Original Vines
2015 Pinot blanc Dundee Hills

Not to be a jerk, but why would you invest in the most expensive (or thereabouts) Chardonnay in Oregon made by a pack of people who have, at best, a budding relationship with Oregon? There are producers with intense knowledge of and relationships with the fruit of this area that offer far more compelling and older vine material than the newcomer in LF. This is a new thing in Oregon and I dislike it quite intensely. Ooh, someone who sold wine in restaurants in CA is “making” wine in Oregon? His must be the best. It’s not. Not specifically trying to run down Larry and LF but I do get annoyed at the CA-fornication and faux-Burgundian stuff when people here have been figuring it out for years/decades and are, of course, doing it better and more soulfully.

Go buy some Cameron, J. Christopher, Walter Scott, etc. at 1/3rd-1/2 the price and be happy you did.

I swear it had nothing to do with Jim’s post - I was halfway through the order on another tab… Picked up a sixer from PGC:

2015 Durant Vineyard Chardonnay (2)
2015 Dry Muscat Ottonel
2016 Willamette Valley Sauvignon Blanc
2016 Dry Muscat Ottonel
2016 Estate Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc

Looking forward to trying these.

You may enjoy the Chardonnay.

My go to producers are Cameron, Goodfellow, Walter Scott, Eyrie, Brick House, Brittan, and Westrey. Of those, the Goodfellow, Walter Scott, and Brittan have a little more tension than the others.

From a vintage standpoint, if you like leaner wines, 2010 and 2012 were the best recent vintages. 2014 was a little fatter than the rest although a number of producers did quite well. Relatively speaking I think 2015 is a better vintage than 2014.

From your requirements you should try Vincent Wines. He has two 2016 chards on offer right now. The prices are very reasonable too.

Thanks Rick. Looks like Walter Scott chards are all sold out on their website.

Certainly less experience than Rick but agree 100% other than I have not yet had a chance to taste Brittan’s Chard. Brittan’s pinot was a little over the top for me but it was young.

I buy Goodfellow (and Matello), Cameron, sometimes Brick House, sometimes Eyrie, sometimes Westrey, Evesham Wood (sick bargain) and St Innocent. I promised to not add any new Oregon producers to my cellar, until I tasted Walter Scott. They promptly got added.

I look forward to some notes!

Jason

Big Table Farm is another good producer to add to this mix. Really nice OR Chardonnay.

Next you’re going to demand a wall be built at the OR/CA border. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m more of a tariff/border tax kind of guy!

My daily drinker (and perhaps one of my favorite wines of all time) is Cameron Willamette Valley Chardonnay. When guests come over I open a WV Chardonnay and a Cameron Dundee Hills Chardonnay and let guests compare and contrast, then blend the two to play around. I should have bought more of the 2014 Cameron Reserve Chardonnay, I’d recommend that a lot if you can find it anywhere. The ‘lesser’ Cameron bottlings are so good I honestly haven’t even worked up to the Clos Electrique or Abbey Ridge (but picked up a mag of the liner &elsen special due to be released later this fall). I took a whiff of La Combe Verte Chardonnay earlier this year and told the woman with blond curly hair at Walter Scott that it smelled like Cameron, and she seemed to take that as a real compliment.

In the spirit of Lingua Franca, and of course my favorite punching bag Seth Morgan Long, I plan to introduce my first ever extra limited release of Chardonnay later this year --the 2015 Everson Oregon Chardonnay. Production will be approximately one case. Really it will be Cameron 2016 WV Chardonnay, but I’ll peel off the label or use a Sharpee to draw over JP’s label. Cost will be $400 per bottle, not including shipping. PM me now to reserve your exclusive place in Oregon Chardonnay history, the most expensive Oregon Chardonnay I believe ever to be released.

Well, the response to Everson Chardonnay, Oregon’s most expensive Chardonnay ever, has been overwhelming. But, before I can even think about allocations, I have to nail down my artwork. I’ve been working with local, sustainable, vegan, free-range, non-binary, artisanal homeless street artists on concepts, but our first attempt didn’t go so well. I honestly spelled Oregon incorrectly, so we have some work to do. I apologize for the delays. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to post this damn picture correctly.
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