When I first put my nose in the glass of this wine I had to do a double-take. I picked up the bottle and realized it was in fact Trisaetum’s 2016 Willamette Valley Chardonnay. I was blown away by the fact that they had crafted a wine with the depth and complexity typically found in serious Puligny-Montrachet costing two and three times more. A small number of producers in Oregon are in fact reaching these levels, but rarely at this price point.
There’s a clear theme among our favorite New World winemakers: Most chose their craft out of a sense of higher calling. That might sound a little melodramatic, but American winemakers don’t have 800 years of history to draw on. Instead, someone throws caution to the wind, and, like James Frey, completely changes course in life. With a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology and a steady job in advertising, wine wasn’t an obvious next step in Frey’s career. But a little experimentation in home winemaking and a steady appetite for Pinot Noir fed a growing obsession. Inspired by their favorite wines, James and his wife, Andrea, began looking for vineyard land in the Willamette Valley and purchased an old cattle ranch in 2003. Thirteen years later, they made the mind-blowing 2016 Chardonnay we’re showcasing today.
Having been a huge fan of their Pinot Noirs for years, I had high expectations for this Chardonnay, and perhaps not surprisingly, they weren’t high enough. I knew of Trisaetum’s wine and of Oregon Chardonnay and how good both of those were in their respective categories. What I wasn’t expecting was a mouthful of white Burgundy—or at least a wine so smooth, so bright and acidic and well-rounded that for a moment, I felt like I was drinking something from the Côte de Beaune. Then there was a touch of New World hedonism and a uniquely Oregonian texture and minerality that precludes further comparison. It’s a wine that keeps you coming back, inviting comparisons to other world-class Chardonnays that have crossed your palate. This is a powerful dose of very good Chardonnay for a dollar amount that wouldn’t go nearly as far in any other Chardonnay region of the world.
The story of Trisaetum begins long, long before Andrea and James Frey feet walked across the earth of their new farm. Fifty million years ago, actually, when their future vineyard lay at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean among a string of submarine volcanoes. Eruptions pushed lava up through the ocean floor, depositing a rich blend of volcanic and sedimentary soils that would one day grow some of Oregon’s most beautiful grapes. It wasn’t until this volcanic island chain smashed into North America and buckled to create Oregon’s Coast Range that the “vineyard” was thrust up into the air and became dry land. This extraordinary confluence of soil type, elevation, aspect, and microclimate attracted James and Andrea right away.
The original vineyard the Frey family purchased is now one of three: the Wichmann Dundee Estate; the Coast Range Estate; and the Ribbon Ridge Estate. Each boasts a different cocktail of soil types with names like Hazelair, Nekia, and Willakenzie. They sound like a deck of geological Pokemon Cards but in reality, those varied soils are what gives the Freys so much depth and nuance to play with when blending barrels to create a wine like their Willamette Chardonnay.
Frey is a self-taught winemaker and relies on experience, intuition, and observation rather than a rigid adherence to the way things “are supposed to be done.” It’s the same skill set that guided him in his second career as an abstract impressionist painter, photographer, and sculptor (An impressive gallery is on display at Trisaetum!). He understands taking raw materials and transmuting their substance into something exultant.
In order to work that magic, James built a state-of-the-art winery designed to process fruit with precision. A six-stage fruit sorting system goes so far as to air-dry berries to avoid dilution of the juice. Two rounds of manual sorting follow the fruit being vacuumed of any remaining leaves, bugs, and twigs. Fruit sorting can often take twice as long as at most other wineries and involves a crew of 15 people. Once Frey is satisfied the fruit is clean and unblemished, fermentations take place in neutral French oak (never tanks). Up to 100 individual fermentations are monitored carefully before being blended into the final four Chardonnays. The 2016 vintage is only the second vintage for Trisaetum Chardonnay.
The wine is a bright gold in the glass. The nose is mouthwateringly aromatic: honeydew melon, lemon verbena, and green pear. It’s the texture of the palate that gives this wine away as a New World effort. It is smooth and soft, with a touch of viscosity that makes it feel like a length of heavy silk across the tongue. Flavors are firmly centered around lemon peel, fresh grated nutmeg, and a little whipped cream. It’s like a lemon meringue pie underpinned by firm, volcanic minerality. Frey himself describes it best: a perfect mix of power and delicacy, a Chardonnay that fills your mouth without being heavy. Serve this in Burgundy stems at 50 degrees after 30 minutes of breathing in a decanter. We’d recommend a plate piled with salted cod and crab fritters, with a little spicy relish on the side and a bright gem salad heaped with new radishes.
