Week two of our #WineStudio exploration of Willamette Valley Chardonnay brought with it three delightful wines. We continue to be impressed with the quality of Oregon’s Willamette Valley Chardonnay.
Chardonnay represents only a small portion of the total acres planted to wine grapes in Oregon. Total Chardonnay acreage stands at about 1200. Pinot Noir, by comparison, is planted to over 15,000 acres in Oregon.
Although the trend for acreage planted to Chardonnay is increasing, it is still far behind the 25% of total Oregon plantings it reached some years back. This we learned is due to several factors. Some original plantings were made with clones that were not suitable or in locations that were not optimal. Unsuccessful vineyards were removed over time. As viticulturists have learned how and where to farm Chardonnay successfully in Oregon it has been replanted.
Interestingly, the price paid for Chardonnay grapes is increasing sharply, up 28% from 2012 to 2013 according to the folks at Protocol Wine Studio. In fact they told us that the best quality Chardonnay fruit can cost more than Pinot Noir in Oregon. That’s surprising to me, given that Oregon is Pinot Noir country. Something special is going on here. Clearly, viticulturists and winemakers have discovered Chardonnay’s secrets in the Willamette Valley.
We tasted three Willamette Valley Chardonnays during this tasting, which were provided to us by the wineries as tasting samples. Jim Prosser, winemaker and owner of J.K. Carriere Wines, and Marcus Goodfellow, winemaker and owner of Goodfellow Family Cellars and Matello Wines, joined the Twitter conversation to tell us about their wines.
As with last week, we prepared food to accompany the wine. I prepared a dried fruit compote which we enjoyed on bread with a smear of ricotta, charcuterie along with St. André triple creme soft-ripened cheese and bread topped with shredded Brussel sprouts, Sriracha crème fraîche and bacon. We found last week that both Chardonnays were extremely food friendly; the same applied this week.
2012 J.K. Carriere Wines Lucidité — toasty aromas combine with citrusy flavors of grapefruit with clove spice in the background. Bright acidity and a bit of roundness combine with the complex flavors for a moderate-length finish. This wine is lively, flavorful and has great acidity. ABV 13.5%. $32.
Winemaker and owner Jim Prosser (@JKCarriereWines) uses native yeast fermentation in this barrel-fermented Chardonnay. I was surprised to learn that this wine goes through 100% malolactic fermentation. Though it is a bit round, it still exhibits bracing acidity. The wine is aged for 18 months in older French barrels.
We found this wine was the perfect companion to the St. André cheese and the milder salami. The acidity of the wine and its clean flavors were great with the fattiness of these two dishes.
2012 Goodfellow Family Cellars Whistling Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay — vanilla aromas combine with baked apple and tart citrus flavors. Subtle cedar spice flavors combine with the fruit flavors and bright acidity for a moderately long finish. ABV 14.1%. $36. Only 80 cases produced.
Marcus Goodfellow (@GFCwines), who makes this wine as well as the Matello which follows, is a firm believer in low impact farming. That means using cover crops, minimal spraying and no pesticides – ever. In addition he works with family-owned vineyards that adhere to dry-farming practices; that means no irrigation. Marcus believes these practices produce “grapes with identity”. That’s his goal – to produce wine reflective of the vineyard site.
This wine exhibits a brilliant combination of Chardonnay fruit flavors with a light seasoning of oak. It has nice weight in the mouth and a very clean finish. We found it was the most complimentary to all of our dishes, actually producing that wonderful combination that accentuates the flavor of both food and wine. Very nice.
2012 Matello Wines Durant Vineyard Chardonnay — grapefruit aromas combine with citrus flavors, sweet barrel toast flavors and minerality. It is very round in the mouth and has a long flavorful finish with both fruit flavors and spice. ABV 13.9% $27. Only 145 cases produced.
The Durant family have been farming grapes in the Willamette Valley since 1973, and the Durant Vineyard is located in the Dundee Hills sub-AVA of the Willamette Valley. Marcus chooses fruit from the Raven Block which was planted in 1993.
In the wine cellar, Marcus presses whole clusters, then after settling, racks the juice to barrels for fermentation, 30% with native yeast, the balance with selected yeast. Sur-lie aging without stirring continues until bottling.
This wine paired beautifully with the St. André cheese and with the spicier salami as well as the Sriracha-spiced Brussel sprouts and bacon combination. This wine seems to love spicy food.
All three of these Willamette Valley Chardonnays exhibit nice fruit flavors, great acidity and wood-influenced flavors that compliment rather than trample the Chardonnay fruit flavors. It requires a nuanced approach to develop aromatics, fruit flavors and flavors from wood aging, all in the proper balance and these winemakers have succeeded in doing just that.
Thanks to Protocol Wine Studio for another fun and educational #WineStudio evening. It’s great to talk to the winemakers, even if it’s only 140 characters at a time! Thank you to Jim and Marcus for providing the wine and spending time sharing your stories. Delicious wines all.
Join the conversation tomorrow evening by following the hashtag #WineStudio on Twitter. It should be very interesting:
Week 3: 18 November, 6 pm Pacific time – Beaune of Oregon: Chardonnay as the New (Ore)Gold
Omero Cellars Erin Butler, David Moore, Chad Stock (@OmeroCellars) and special guest Elaine Brown (@Hawk_Wakawaka)
2012 Willamette Valley
2012 Extended Elevage
Cheers!
