2017 Chehalem Mountains Chardonnay

$33.00

Over a decade ago we started sourcing Chardonnay grapes from a different AVA and vineyard each vintage with hopes of gaining insight into the influences of both soil and site on this classic varietal.  In recent years we have narrowed our focus to the Chehalem Mountains and specifically Chehalem Mountain Vineyard located on a lovely little hillock between a southern knuckle of the Chehalem Mountains proper and its sub-AVA Ribbon Ridge.  Here soil is marine sedimentary and slope south-facing at 450 feet.  Clonal selection is old Wente and 76, both tried and true expressions of Oregon Chardonnay.  The site’s provenance is its adjacency to the spot where Dick Erath planted the first Chardonnay in the region in 1974.

The grapes were hand harvested on September 13th, 2017 gently whole bunch pressed, settled and racked to barrels for fermentation and aging. The wine was encouraged through malolactic fermentation and kept on lees until bottling in late August 2018.

TASTING NOTES:
The 2017 Chehalem Mountains Chardonnay is vibrant and energetic and emotes a multitude of aromas that bring dimensionality to the nose. There is honeysuckle and lemon grass, white peach and Tuscan melon, ginger, lanolin, tarragon, sea dulse, honey and flint. The palate is mouthwatering, full of momentum and nervy with notes of crushed rocks and rosemary, spring lilacs, persimmon and yellow wax bean. The wine is both ample and elegant with a core crystalline acidity and a lingering saline finish.

TECHNICAL:
Vineyard: Chehalem Mountain Vineyard
AVA: Chehalem Mountains
Soils: marine sedimentary, shallow silty loam
Harvest: September 13, 2017
Winemaking: Native & introduced fermentation, mostly malolactic, 10 months on lees in French oak puncheon and barrique
Finish Chemistry: 13.1% alcohol, 6.4 g/L TA and 3.27 pH