Exploring Oregon Chardonnay

The KensWineGuide.com Tasting Panel recently tasted Oregon Chardonnays blindly.  We all know that Oregon is well known for its world class Pinot Noir.  As a reader of KensWineGuide.com you also know we are quite fond and have recommended several of Oregon's Pinot Gris offerings in the past.  However, even though Chardonnay is the most popular white wine grape in this country, Oregon is not known across the country for this varietal.  A group of Oregon Chardonnay winemakers asked us if we would like to review some of their Chardonnays blindly and tell them what we think.  There were sixteen different bottles submitted.  The panel recommended seven of them as Very Good or better.  Most of the wines were from the 2006 vintage.  There was one from 2007 and three from 2005. 

Our winners came from seven different wineries.  Our overall winner came from the Carabella Winery.  Their 2006 “Dijon 76 Clone ” Chardonnay $28 comes from Chehalem Mountain, Oregon.  This well received wine was round and smooth with tart apple and vanilla like flavors with notes of oak.  We scored this wine Very Good with 88.5 points.   The panel felt this winner would pair nicely with chicken picatta or lobster ravioli.

Our second place finisher was the 2006 Rex Hill “Reserve” Chardonnay $28.  This wine was very well received and very food friendly.  It shows light lime and pear-like flavors and a touch of lightly toasted oak and minerals.  We scored this wine Very Good with 88.0 points.  On another note, Rex Hill sent us a second bottle of this “Reserve”, so I thought I would try it on a second group of Chardonnay lovers.  This group liked it a lot and would have scored the wine a little higher.  They all said they would have scored it 89 or 90 if they had to put a number on it.

Our third place finisher came from Adelsheim Vineyards.  Their 2006 Caitlin's Reserve Chardonnay $38 was balanced and creamy with oak-influenced ripe pear and mango flavors.  The panel felt this wine was very food friendly and would pair nicely with chicken ravioli with a smoky cream sauce or saltimbocca. Our fourth place finisher came from the Stoller Vineyards. Their 2006 “SV Estate Grown” Chardonnay $28 was medium bodied, round, with honey and vanilla flavors and toasted oak influences.  This wine appealed to the panelists who enjoy an oaky influenced style of Chardonnay.  Overall, we scored this wine 87.43.  As an interesting aside, it was pointed out to us that three of our seven finalist wines were sourced from the Stoller Vineyard.  The other two wines from this vineyard were the Caitlin's Reserve and the Ian's Reserve.  Apparently we like the grapes from this vineyard!

Next up was the 2006 Cristom “Germaine Vineyard” Chardonnay $25.  This was our roasted chicken wine.  It is nicely balanced, slightly creamy, and has pear-like flavors with a touch of oak.  Overall, we  thought this was a very nice food wine.  Our next wine came from our Oregon Chardonnay coordinator.  Pat, from Bethel Heights, coordinated sending us the samples and submitted her 2006 “Estate Grown” Chardonnay $25.  This Chardonnay was on the lighter side.  It was balanced and crisp with fruit driven apple-like flavors and light oak on the back palate.  The panel felt this would be a perfect match with pecan encrusted tilapia.

Finally, there was my favorite, and the ace of the group.  The 2005 Chehalem “Ian's Reserve” $34.  I felt this wine was very similar in style to many of California's rich Chardonnays.  It was medium-bodied, smooth, creamy, and showed distinguished apricot and integrated oak-like flavors.  A few of the panelists thought this offering was a bit over the top, but I thought it was just right if you like a rich style of Chardonnay.

Overall, we still felt that Pinot Noir is King and Pinot Gris is still Queen of the Oregon wine kingdom.  However, we do think you should explore Oregon Chardonnays and find a winery and Chardonnay that matches your tastes and palate.  You might even find your ace in the deck like I did. 

Enjoy and cheers,
Ken