I’ve said many times over that Oregon’s Willamette Valley produces the best value-for-dollar Pinot Noirs in the world—balanced, perfumed, site-expressive wines which, at their best, give a nod to great red Burgundy while speaking in their own voice. And, after a recent visit to the Willamette Valley, I think the same thing is happening with Oregon Chardonnay.
We listened to several top producers talk about their devotion to Chardonnay, and how the grape is enjoying a “renaissance” throughout the region. And, when we asked around as to where to find the best examples, one name kept popping up: Walter Scott. It’s no small accomplishment to have your wines named as reference points by your peers, especially when you’re a somewhat fledgling operation like this one. Founded in 2008 by winemaker Ken Pahlow and his wife, Erica Landon (while both had other jobs), Walter Scott is still a small (about 5,000 cases annually) winery, and one with, as Ken himself puts it, a Chardonnay “obsession.” As we tasted through Pahlow’s impressive range, I couldn’t resist comparisons to some of my favorite white Burgundies: the freshness and nerve, the minerality, the floral aromatics…it was all there, and we immediately locked down what little remained. Just 340 cases of this wine were produced in total, and we got the last of it; if you want to taste the future of New World Chardonnay, Pahlow’s 2016 “La Combe Vert” is a bottle to jump on.
If you’re a white Burgundy lover, or a Chardonnay lover in general, you’ve likely heard some discussion of “premox” (premature oxidation) and/or “reduction.” Essentially, the latter is a response to the former: Many Burgundy experts were noticing more and more white wines that were oxidized much sooner than they should have been—showing more mature (darker) colors and the nutty, butterscotch aromas and flavors associated with oxidation. Think of how an apple turns brown after it is cut and left exposed to air on the countertop—that’s oxidation, and many white Burgundy producers sought to combat that through more ‘reductive’ winemaking techniques that protected the fermenting/aging wine from exposure to oxygen at every step in the process. Many of us have an image of even young Chardonnay as buttery, round, and toasty, but anyone who’s tried the more-reductive styles of producers like Coche-Dury or Roulot knows that Chardonnay can be something else entirely—electric, mineral, and fresh, with scents of lime blossoms and wet stones.
This Coche/Roulot level of vivacity was readily present in Pahlow’s Chardonnays, which now account for about 40% of his total production. This is reflective of a broader trend in Oregon: Whereas Chardonnay and Riesling were Willamette’s more-widespread white varieties in the ’70s and ‘80s, the cash cow that was (and is) Pinot Gris had eclipsed both by 2001. At a presentation called “Hunting The Great White,” given 2014 at the Willamette Valley’s superb “Oregon Pinot Camp,” there was talk of a resurgence in Chardonnay plantings in the region, although they still account for just 4.6% of the region’s acreage (compared to 13.5% for Pinot Gris).
Since 2014, Ken and Erica have been able to focus exclusively on Walter Scott, after having spent some 18 years on the Willamette Valley wine scene. Ken spent 14 years with Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent (just featured in one of our offers a few days ago), then did stints Patricia Green Wine Cellars (where he made his first Walter Scott wines) and Evening Land (where he got to work with Chardonnay maestro Dominique Lafon) before going fully solo. Along the way, he cultivated relationships with a slew of important growers in the region, many of them in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA (where Walter Scott’s winery is now headquartered). The “La Combe Vert” bottling is a blend of six different vineyard sources, fermented and aged in oak using only native yeasts. The wine aged in French oak barrels (of which just 20% were new) for 10 months, with only a minimal amount of bâtonnage (lees-stirring) employed.
In the glass, the 2016 “La Combe Vert” is a pale straw-gold with green highlights at the rim. The aromatics are a fresh, perfumed mix of yellow and green apple, green pear, lime blossom, wildflower honey, and crushed chalk. The palate is medium-bodied and tightly coiled, promising many years of graceful bottling aging ahead. My first reference point upon putting my nose in the glass is Puligny-Montrachet—the energy and minerality are there, with an extra layer of ripe, bright fruit that lands you in Oregon. Much in the same way that Oregon Pinots capture the ‘savory’ side of that grape, this Chardonnay delivers a level of minerality you don’t always find in New World examples. It more than lived up to the hype, and I’ll be curious to see what it becomes with 5-10 years of bottle age (a case is already stashed away in my cellar). If you’re enjoying a bottle now, decant it about 30 minutes before serving in large Burgundy stems. Cook up some chicken with a tangy Dijon sauce and revel in your latest find. There’s much more to come, so stay tuned!
