I’ve tasted quite a bit of Willamette Valley Chardonnay recently. My notes on some of the best of those wines, from a variety of producers, are below. I covered Chardonnay from Alloro and Domaine Drouhin here a while back.

The wines below represent three different vintages, since wineries differ in their aging regimes. But all are currently available from the producers or in the market. 

About the Vintages

2014 was an excellent vintage for Willamette Valley Chardonnay with moderate temperatures and little rain. The result for most wineries was a bounty of well-balanced, delicious fruit.

2015 was the second excellent vintage in a row for the Willamette Valley. The year started off warm and as much as three weeks early at some sites. Temperatures moderated late in the growing season, allowing grapes a normal duration for ripening. Yields were generous.

2016 made it an unprecedented trifecta of great vintages for the Willamette Valley. Like the previous year, 2016 started and finished early with excellent-quality fruit filling the harvest bins with a somewhat higher than average yield. Temperatures were warm throughout and there was no threat of disease.

Willamette Valley Chardonnay

2015 Youngberg Hill “Aspen” Chardonnay McMinnville AVA, Willamette Valley 89 13.4% 750ml screw cap $40

There’s appealing complexity on the nose, first poached yellow apple, pear, cinnamon and nutmeg, then honeyed nuts and dried lemon. The fine-textured palate shows medium-plus weight and a balance of lively acidity and oak-derived grip. Flavors largely match the nose with more prominence to apple and oak, less to pear. Built for food, the Aspen will delight when paired with creamy, young cow’s milk cheese or tender, poached chicken breast in a creamy sauce. This is first vintage of Chardonnay from 10-year old vines in the 2.5 acre “Aspen” block of the Youngberg Hill estate vineyard. 

2014 Beaux Frères Chardonnay Willamette Valley 93 750ml $75

This blend of fruit, from the Brick House (Ribbon Ridge AVA) and Gran Moraine (Yamhill-Carlton AVA) vineyards, is flavorful yet refined. Very fine, silky texture and fabulously mouthwatering acidity frame the bounty of creamy apple, pear and baking spice aromas and flavors. Unfined and unfiltered, the palate has medium-plus body and great length. The wine spent 17 months in French oak, only 15% of which was new.

2014 Ponzi Chardonnay Reserve Chehalem Mountains, Willamette Valley 92 13.8 750ml $40

Winemaker Luisa Ponzi fermented and aged this 100% Dijon-clone Chardonnay entirely in French oak, but just 10% was new. The welcoming nose offers generous aromas of lemon curd, yellow apple, toasted oak, banana cream and baking spice. Look for golden apple, dried lemon peel, lightly buttered toast, baking spice, and a touch of cream on the long, juicy, medium-bodied palate.

2015 Ponzi Chardonnay Avellana Vineyard, Chehalem Mountains, Willamette Valley 93 13.6% 750ml $63

This single-vineyard wine, made solely in neutral oak, shows a lovely range of fruit ripeness with lemon, green apple, yellow apple, and underripe stone fruit, accented by pretty apple blossom and hints of cream and toast. The long, smooth palate has medium-plus body and refreshing acidity.

2015 Crowley Four Winds Chardonnay Willamette Valley 88+ 13.0% 750ml $45

An attractive, medium-bodied Willamette Valley Chardonnay with gentle flavors and aromas of sweet pear, lemon, baking spice and a kiss of oak. Good length.

2015 Brittan Vineyards Chardonnay Willamette Valley 89 13.9% 750ml $42

This Willamette Valley Chardonnay includes fruit from the McMinnville and Dundee Hills AVAs wants some time in the bottle or a bit of decanting as it transitions from structural texture with a mineral-driven nose and palate to more generous fruit with interesting floral accents.

2016 Cristom Estate Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley 91 13.0% 750ml $40

Pretty aromas of pear and saffron peek coquettishly over the rim of the glass. The elegant, medium-bodied palate of poached pear and delicate spices is juicy and long. 

2015 Argyle Nuthouse Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley 90+ 13.8% 750ml $40

This perfume-forward, Dijon-clone Chardonnay offers delicate aromas of daffodil and whole apples. The palate has good presence with medium-plus body, mouthwatering acidity, very fine texture, and pretty flavors of apples, apple blossom, and saffron.

2014 Johan Vineyards Chardonnay “Visdom” Willamette Valley 89 13.2% 750ml $33

Johan Vineyards looks to add complexity to this wine, made from Van Duzer Corridor grapes, by aging it 20 months in barrel and then a further year in bottle with a small dose of the lees. Unfined and unfiltered, it’s bright but a little hazy (as intended) in the glass. Aromas include tart yellow apple, pear, a melange of spices, and a hint of wood. The palate is medium-bodied with fine texture that has a little grip. Flavors of baking spice and fresh bread complement juicy green and yellow apple, lemon and pear.

2014 Lavinea Chardonnay Elton Vineyard, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley 93+ 13.4% 750ml $60

The nose is about cool-climate complexity with aromas of green apple, quince, lemon, pear, spice and apple leaves. The palate is a generous medium in body with a super juicy attack followed by very fine, grippy texture and mouth-clinging flavors of quince, pear and buttered bread.

Copyright Fred Swan 2018. Photo courtesy of Ponzi Vineyards. All rights reserved.