Aging Oregon chardonnay

We all know that OR is a young region in the wine world, and that historically it has been disproportionately planted to pinot noir compared to other grape varietals (though that is now changing). At what point did chardonnay become more commonly produced in the region, and have the earliest examples of these wines demonstrated a capacity for chardonnay to age well beyond 10-15 years? What does the evolution of these wines typically look like?

We’re boldly going where few have gone before with cold climate Chard I think…I’ve having a bitch of a time keeping my corks in the bottles of the Cameron, Kelley Fox, Walter Scott, and Goodfellow Chards I bought…however…I think all these wines are showing enough restrain and acid balance to go at least 12-15…I’m sure others have more experience, but I’ll be following this thread.

Hi Brian,

I have only been drinking OR Chardonnay for a few years, but I’ll take the first stab at this. The only really old one I’ve had was an Eyrie from the late 1980s that they were sampling in their tasting room. I think it was selling for $275. I found it completely devoid of fresh fruit and thus completely devoid of interest.

And that leads directly to my asking what it is you are looking for in extended aging of OR Chardonnay? My experience is that they start to change into different wines around four or five years, losing the bright fresh fruit for characteristics one would expect in an aged white. It is arguable that this is an actual improvement so much as it is a change in character. I am increasingly finding that I prefer whites with freshness and miss that in the 5+ year old wines I’ve had. Going forward I am inclined to drink my whites sooner rather than later and leave the aging to the reds.

I still have a 2002 Domaine Serene Cote Sud that has held up admirably from the last one a couple years ago.

Aged more like Chablis due to lower oak regimens and higher acid.

Curious to hear what folks have to say on this as my only experience with aged Oregon is Pinot, which is stunning.

We have a group that tastes Oregon Chardonnay at the six year point (2013 last year). At that point, many of the wines are still fresh and lovely. Most of the top producers haven’t been making Chardonnay long enough to know how they’ll be at the 10 year mark much less any longer. We’ll have a better idea in another 5 years.

Probably the only producers that have been making superb Chardonnay for more than 10 years are Eyrie and Cameron. I’ve had Eyrie Chardonnays back 30 years, and I think they hold well but I don’t see much improvement beyond about 10 or 15 years. The 1983 Eyrie was excellent the last time I had it in 2010. The top end Camerons (Clos Electrique and Abbey Ridge) can easily go 12-15 years, though they tend to move away from fresh fruit to more savory notes as they age. I had a 1998 Abbey Ridge in 2012 that could have been confused for a Pinot if it was served in a black glass.

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Another way to look at this question is to ask yourself
1/ what helps white wines age?
and
2/ why do you want them to age
I think the answers to the first question are:
pH
TA
SO2
lees contact–glutathione

Wines with good acidity, SO2 and lees contact should age into something nice and complex.

If you enjoy white wines for the youthful fruit and vigor, then drink them young and maybe SO2 and lees contact are not so important.

For the record I made Chardonnay with Eric Hamacher from around 1996 to around 2002. I would assume he has continued to make good chardonnay.

I’ve been drinking OR Chardonnay for 8 years, joined the vintage tastings Rick mentioned, and had a few at 10+ years old. As others have mentioned, thee are a handful of producers whose Chardonnays I would have no issue recommending to others to safely hold 10 years - Cameron, Eyrie, Goodfellow, Walter Scott, and Arterberry Maresh. As more Chardonnay vines come online and other winemakers up their Chardonnay game, I expect this list will grow in the coming years (not to mention I’m sure others with more experience can point out others I’ve missed).

But, like Chris, I have found that the wines show best for me between 3-8 years depending on producer and vintage. The 10+ year old bottles I’ve tried have been good, but the denser, honeyed, bruised Apple, more savory notes I get from those wines are not really my bag. I generally prefer the period, which varies by producer & vineyard, where the fruit is still present but is starting to drop off. YMMV

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The older ones I have had have tended to get richer and “wetter” if that term means anything to you. Numerous 1980s etc Chardonnays from Tualatin Estate and Shafer (neither of which do it anymore). As well as Eyrie, Cameron.

Other than a few producers, the Chardonnays currently being made by the top producers (see above, add a few more) tend to be significantly better than prior versions. They are likely more ageable as well - if you like the changes. If you want only “fresh fruit,” why bother?

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When I moved up here in 1995, the OR wine industry was a lot smaller than it is now, but many of the producers made Chardonnay. I think a lot of them hopped on the Chard craze, but a number of them were too oaky, but overcropped and thin, and not really complex or balanced. The main original plantings were a variety of Wente clones and others, but the Dijon clones were planted a lot in the '90s. I’ve noticed a real uptick in quality lately, though producers like Eyrie and Cameron have always made delicious Chards (a 2010 Cameron Abbey Ridge Chard tried a couple of months ago was absolutely stunning). Maybe some of the OR producers here can give more info, but it seems that Chard is taken more seriously now, and that people might putting more effort into matching clones, sites, and soils in order to make the best wine as opposed to just planting Chard anywhere because it’s the “hot” grape.

Eric is talented and makes wines to age (especially his Pinots IMHO). I’ve only had 1 or 2 of his Chards.

Cameron comes to mind immediately. Lovely at age 15. Only 1 each left of the 05 Abbey Ridge and Clos Electrique Chards. Not sure there’s any hurry.

RT

I had the pleasure of sitting next to Eric at one of our sales meetings at Martin Scott Wines. The 02 PN was a treat.

My preference for OR Chardonnay is like other great domestic Chardonnay, in the 5-8 year zone, sometimes a little longer. I value having some fruit along with softening texture along with early secondary treats. After that comes a window where the fruit fades and sometimes the presentation states to slowly diminsh a bit.

If you are starting to cellar some younger wines I would try mid term and if they seem to need more time then maybe hang on to them. Otherwise enjoy them when the fruit shines.

I wouldn’t overlook Domaine Serene & Adelsheim, adding to Cameron, Walter Scott and others mentioned.

I think those older Chards suffered from wrong Clone, wrong place, higher cropping, treating OR Chard like CA, and a multitude of other issues. There were only a few people with a sense of place back then…mostly the OGs, Adelsheim, Erath, Eyrie, Ponzi and even then it was third choice behind Pinot Noir and Gris.

I think this is right, that the OR chards of recent release will have longer potential lifespan than those of, generally speaking, earlier times.

I am thinking of the makers today AM, Goodfellow, Cameron, Dom. Drouhin. Not saying there aren’t others, that’s just where I have some tasting experience to venture this statement.

Oregon’s issue with Chardonnay was never the clone(s). In our tastings, wines made from the old Wente clone have done very well. Clearly the Draper selection (Eyrie, Tualatin, Abbey Ridge) has performed better, but regular old Wente clone Chardonnays have significantly out-performed the Dijon clone wines.

A friend & I have a bottle of the 2008 Eyrie Original Vines & 2008 Cameron Clos Electrique set aside to check out. As of right now, it’s 12 years…so it will be interesting to see how well they’re doing sometime in the next year or two. I’ll certainly post here to share the experience.

I would also say that mixed clone Chardonnays (Clos Electrique, X-Novo) do very well too. BTW, I believe that A lot of the Dundee Hills Chardonnays have at least some Draper Selection, including Maresh, Winderlea, and Durant. These all sold fruit to Eyrie many years ago.

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I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

Thanks everyone for contributing to this discussion.