Have you tried Oregon Chardonnay yet?
If you did, the chances are that it came from Willamette Valley, which is considered the best for Chardonnay in Oregon.
If you didn't, and you are a Chardonnay fan, then you should. In our view, it has terroir hallmarks that make it distinctly Willamette Valley. Some may even challenge the wines of the famous French village of Meursault.
While Chardonnay had been grown in Oregon for decades, it was in the shadow of its compadre Pinot Noir. As vine-growing and winemaking took off in the 1970s, Oregon became known and earned accolades for its Pinot Noirs. At the turn of the century, it became a world-class region for this finicky variety.
Chardonnay had a different story, and while there were a few excellent examples, as a whole, Oregon Chardonnay was hardly remarkable and competing with California, the leading region in the country.
It can be attributed to many factors. Many Chardonnay plantings ended up on lesser sites, and the vines were not farmed appropriately. There were only a few vintners who took Chardonnay seriously while many looked upon it as a commodity wine.
Oregon Chardonnay Clones
In the beginning, Oregon vintners planted Californian Wente clones of Chardonnay. After all, they were pioneers of the wine industry in Oregon, and it took some time for them to learn terroir and realize that Wente clones couldn't ripen in time in the cooler the Pacific Northwest climate. Also, many wines were over-oaked and over manipulated, resulting in an attempt to emulate the popular California style of Chardonnay.
At the turn of the 21st century, Oregon Chardonnay turned the corner to improve its quality and grew in popularity. Inspired by Oregon Pinot Noir's success, a few Burgundian winemaking families and talented winemakers decided to invest here and bring centuries of experience and know-how along with them.
When it came to Chardonnay, winemakers experimented with early ripening Dijon clones, better sites, and winemaking techniques to determine what works best in this terroir.
Oregon Wine Industry
The biggest boom of the Oregon wine industry probably happened in the past decade. There are a few factors that contributed to its success.
First, the movie "Sideways" and talented Paul Giamatti elevated lesser-known variety in the United States into celebrity status. We remember visiting Oregon in 2007 and winemakers telling us that they are selling out all the time.
Second, as the business boomed, it attracted large wine companies and even more talented and experienced winemakers from France.
Last but not least, Mother Nature was kind to vintners and winemakers from 2014 through 2018. They've seen some of the warmest and most productive vintages on record with an abundance of high-quality fruit.
While the spotlight was on Pinot Noir, the flagship Oregon variety, it had a spillover effect on Chardonnay.
As a result of the wine industry boom, investments, and human talent capital, Oregon moved on the offensive against California Chardonnay. Additionally, wine drinkers started to shift their preferences from full-bodied, buttery, and oaky Chardonnay style, California is famous for, in favor of cool-climate un-oaked leaner style wines. And that's right up Oregon alley.
Oregon Chardonnay Today
Nowadays, many wineries produce Chardonnay in Oregon with some of the best examples from Willamette Valley. Since it's considered a prime terroir, many producers charge top dollar for wine from this area.
We believe the high prices for Willamette Valley Chardonnays are not always justified. Since many producers can buy the fruit from the same vineyard, it seems that it comes down to the winemaker's expertise and winemaking choices made during production.
(Despite the high prices, results may vary, and sometimes we disagree with the price for what's in our glass.)
It's understandable that with an array of choices, it might be challenging for a wine lover to separate fantastic Chardonnay from Chardonnay that "must be fantastic" because it's expensive. We tasted many Willamette Valley and Oregon Chardonnays over the years. We can say that while overall quality went up, not all of them created equal regardless of the price.
Even the producers who create excellent Chardonnays year after year can produce less than ideal wines in bad years. But there's no excuse to make anything but excellent Chardonnay from 2014 to 2018 vintages.
Still, we do come across Willamette Valley Chardonnay that overpriced for its quality when we taste premium wines. Lucky for us, we live within an hour of Willamette Valley, and we can taste the wine before we buy it.
Willamette Valley Chardonnay is produced in different styles, ranging from buttery "a la California" style to lean Chablis-like wines.
Oregon Chardonnay Review
Here are a few Chardonnays that we consider some of the best examples from the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Keep in mind that earlier vintages can have limited availability, but currently available vintages of the same wines are just as good.
2017 Roco Witt's End
Witt's End has flavors of apricot, sweet cream, and a touch of minerality. It has a substantial body, and a feels like this Chardonnay is almost crossing over to California style.
2015 Roco Knudsen
Knudsen just might be the wine that can unite Old World and New World wine lovers. It has its excellent structure, substantial body, and luscious ripe fruit balanced by fresh acidity.
2016 De Lancelotti Le Mie Figlie
Le Mie Figlie opens up beautifully in the glass with aromas of orange blossom, chalky minerality, apple, mango peel, apricot, and, surprisingly, with a hint of dill.
On the palate, it starts with dried apricot, lemon, vanilla, beeswax, and a just a touch of oak.
2015 Domaine Drouhin Arthur
Domaine Drouhin Chardonnay Arthur 2015
True to its young age, it has a lemon color with a greenish hue. The aromas are a combination of apple, lemon, wet stone, and beeswax. So if you like French-style wines of this varietal, you will find familiar notes. On the other hand, if buttery and nutty Chardonnay is what you're looking for, Arthur might disappoint you.
Currently available vintage 2017 Domaine Drouhin Arthur Chardonnay.
2015 Brick House Ribbon Ridge
2015 Brick House greats you with the nose of minerality, apple, and light melon notes. The palate follows in unison with crisp apple, pear, and touch of melon. The overall impression is refreshing wine reminding us of some good examples from the Chablis of France.
2015 Matzinger-Davis Chehalem Mountains
Matzinger Davis Chehalem Mountain is in category that can unite those who love California style and those who go crazy for Chablis.
It has a substantial body, and yet refreshing acidity. It has creamy notes, but just a touch to add compliment the apply-lemony profile of this wine.
Need More Wine?
Based on our evaluation, we can recommend other vintages from the wineries mentioned above as well. A couple of different wines we can suggest are 2015 Domaine Divio Willamette Valley, and subsequent vintages; 2015 Erath Willakia Vineyard Chardonnay (Eola-Amity AVA.)
All our reviews are non-sponsored, and we purchased wine ourselves. You can find in-depth reviews on most wines above and other Chardonnay on our website.
This is not an all-inclusive list, and there are other high-quality producers that we can recommend but haven't published reviews for yet.
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