US: Oregon’s top Chardonnay styles and producers Charles Curtis MW
That it’s such a draw for so many Burgundians of note is sufficient to tell you that Oregon’s Willamette Valley is a developing wine region to be followed, and still a land of discovery. Charles Curtis MW highlights his pick of the producers, along with 1
Once reviled, Chardonnay is today the secret weapon in Oregon’s winemaking arsenal. Wine lovers searching for a crisp, fresh white that can age have traditionally turned to Burgundy. But with the popularity of white Burgundy exploding and prices soaring (especially with the effect of tariffs in the US), many are looking at alternatives. And Oregon might just fit the bill. Although the Willamette Valley is nearly halfway around the world from Burgundy, there are striking similarities. One in particular: wines made from Chardonnay in both places can be shockingly good.
Similar but different
The fundamental reasons for the association owe more to chance than to geology. Robert Drouhin was an early convert. In the 1970s, the then-head of Maison Joseph Drouhin in Burgundy had been introduced to Oregon wine and organised a comparative tasting in Burgundy. By 1986 he had convinced his newly graduated daughter Véronique to intern in
Oregon. They organised internships at Bethel Heights, The Eyrie Vineyards and Adelsheim. These wineries were among the pioneers of the Oregon wine industry. In 1970, there were only five commercial wineries in the state; today there are more than 700. It was Adelsheim that alerted Robert Drouhin to the availability of the vineyard site in Dundee Hills that in 1987 became Domaine Drouhin Oregon.
Véronique Drouhin is quick to point out both similarities and differences between her native Burgundy and Oregon: ‘It’s a cool climate – that is the reason we went to Oregon – but the volcanic soil is so different.’ For her, it was an experience of discovery. The initial Drouhin estate was in the Dundee Hills AVA on a type of volcanic soil called Jory. Early Oregon vintners prized the Jory soils, which gave a distinctive elegance to the wines. ‘But I wouldn’t say minerality,’ remarks Drouhin. ‘That belongs to Chablis.’
For the next Drouhin project, called Roserock, Drouhin acquired land in EolaAmity Hills AVA, just to the east of a break in the Coast Range known as the Van Duzer Corridor. The soils are shallower, but they are also complex – in addition to Jory, there are Nekia soils, a mixture of marine sedimentary and alluvial material. Unlike the Dundee Hills, it is open to the cooling influence of the Pacific ocean through that gap in the mountains. This combination of soil and climate provides a perfect terroir for growing Chardonnay.
Domaine Drouhin estate vineyards and winery in the Dundee Hills AVA
‘Although the Willamette Valley is nearly halfway around the world from Burgundy, there are striking similarities’
Personal connections
One touchstone for Chardonnay here is the Seven Springs Vineyard, planted in 1984 by Al MacDonald. In 2007, ownership passed to a group that included Hollywood director Mark Tarlov, restaurateur Danny Meyer and Burgundy’s Domaine Jacques Prieur. This team formed the winery Evening Land, run today by sommelier Rajat Parr and winemaker Sashi Moorman. Parr believes in the site. ‘I said to Sashi: “This is the hill of Corton – we have to plant this whole hill to Chardonnay”.’ Evening Land makes three Chardonnays here. One is blended from blocks throughout the vineyard, and two are site-specific to a particular vein of volcanic soil.
Dominique Lafon of Meursault was also quick to recognise the potential. He began to consult for Evening Land in 2007. He explains that at that time, producers of Chardonnay looked for very ripe fruit. Dissatisfied with
ChristieÕs
Domaine Serene the wines, he pushed his reluctant owners to pick earlier. When he harvested Chardonnay as he liked, Lafon found the results surprisingly good: ‘I said, oh my God, this is amazing! This has tension, this has balance, this is fresh, this is pure – this is incredible!’
Master Sommelier Larry Stone managed Evening Land during Lafon’s consultancy. He left when he had the opportunity to purchase the property across the street, and began to plant grapes intending to sell the fruit. Lafon joined him as consultant in 2015, convincing Stone to launch a winery to vinify the fruit himself. Their joint project, called Lingua Franca, was born. Lafon is pleased with the results, which he finds very close to Burgundy. ‘We have the same type of pH we have in Burgundy, even more so for Chardonnay than for Pinot Noir,’ he says.
Lafon also encouraged Jean-Nicolas Méo to begin a West Coast adventure of his own. In 2012 Méo was approached by LA record executive Jay Boberg about a project in
Oregon. Two years later, they produced their first vintage under the Nicolas-Jay label (see ‘Producer profile’, April 2020 issue). At first they planned to buy grapes, but a vineyard came up that was too good to pass up: Bishop Creek.