April 14, 2023 - Bisato with friends: Much darker than the 2018 Raveneau it was served next to, cloudy. Served blind from decanter, and it seemed pretty obviously be a Chardonnay from the weight on the palate, but it was right at home next to the Raveneau. I guessed something new world from Oregon, mostly because I figured that was what Adam would bring. That said, this is an easy ringer for a terrific Meursault. The nose has an intriguing bit of brackish salt marsh, that smell from right by the ocean, that gets more grassy and less brackish over time in the glass. The front palate has an immediate attack of wonderfully fresh acidity, salty, fairly powerful but showing a very delicate and faint touch of oak. Really nice showing.
January 5, 2023 - Open for an hour and we were quite easily just throwing the wine back as it's super approachable and drinkable at this stage, so I had to stop myself with half a glass left to write the note. The aromas are incredibly pretty, and yet again, if I were to call this blind I'd guess a nice 1er Burgundy. The notes are elegant with pretty integration of a variety of mineral notes... hard to pick out much else other than "this smells like Burgundy." Perhaps some lemon rind as well. Palate is medium bodied and luscious in texture; quite pretty and elegant with beautiful integration of acidity and minerals, and showing some more of that lemon rind component. The finish offers puckering lemons and vibrant acidity, and there's a really elegant roundness to what's left in the mouth. Probably more round than this was the last time I had it. I don't think this wine is mature, but it's at a superb access point. Perhaps it's at peak (certainly of the fruit), but I am curious to know where it goes from here; I don't think it gets better necessarily, but it certainly will be different and I'm curious where that leads. This is in that 92-93 range, but it really needs some more complexity to get to that higher point of enjoyment. Again, tied for the best Oregon Chardonnay I've had, but being priced like an upper tier 1er Burgundy, I still would choose the 1er Burgundy for my dollars as I've had greater enjoyment for those dollars (and quite a bit less) there.
November 5, 2022 - Charleston Offlineorama VII; 11/2/2022-11/6/2022 (Various locations): Reductive, almost flawed nose initially, but then blossomed with air. Very creamy with lemon curd and a hint of chalkiness.
Very Oregon.
November 5, 2022 - Best American chard I've had. No oak or reduction. Just pure minerality and energy.
October 2, 2022 - On the nose, ripe orchard fruit, persimmon, creme brûlée, and some honeyed mature notes. On the palate, it'smid plus weighted, growing in breadth with airtime. It's almost Baroque but with excellent balancing acidity keeping it in check. Stony. energetic. broad, rich, and chiseled on the palate with more orchard fruit with some mandarin notes as well. Toothsome extract on the finish. Drinking well now, but for me I would drink up. I can see the comparisons to Corton Charlemagne texturally, with a different slant to the fruit. Outstanding.
August 28, 2016 - Crazy Cameron Tasting: First time tasting this wine and I'm thrilled - it offers an interesting comparison to the traditional Clos Electrique Blanc of the same vintage. I get more honey and richness on the nose but there's still lots of lemon/lime and plenty of chalk and sea salt. Aromatically evolving, showing lots of elegance. Plump on the palate but tangy acidity. Bright limes and lemons with crunchy apples, and lots of intense floral and mineral notes. Long, elegant, delicious but intriguing. I'd love to retaste this beauty in three or four years.
August 28, 2016 - Notes from a Cameron Tasting.
N strong smoke, limes, chalk, little vanilla
P lemon, lime, chalk, vanilla, sea water
F long in length, velvety mouthfeel and really nice acidity going on
So much different than the normal CE, a pleasure to drink.
September 5, 2015 - Poured blind. This was a very very classy wine. The aromas were lightly oaked with creamy fruit loop cereal notes. Quite sweet on the fruity notes. The palate entry was incredibly soft and lusciously pretty. A real beauty that demands attention in the mouth. The fruit flavors are very pure and intense, but this is met with angular acidity creating a beautiful balance. The finish is smooth and gorgeously elegant. Incredibly dial up of pure, integrated tart acidity. Quite rich. This wine has a large presence and comes across very confident and balanced. My guess was a good 1er Cru Meursault. So, certainly impressed with the delivery of the wine once it was revealed. However, looking it up now, this wine is actually priced like a good 1er Cru Meursault, so while it's impersonation act is impressive, it's not necessarily a relative value. Still, probably the finest Oregon Chardonnay I've had.
December 21, 2014 - Popped and poured, followed over 4 hours. Single barrel Corton-Charlemagne clone from Clos Electrique.
I went ahead a killed this baby. And I don't regret it. I've had 3 amazing Chardonnays from Oregon this year: 2012 Crowley Four Winds, 2012 Crowley Cuvee Daena, and this one. All three would give any great white Burgundy a run for the money, but this one stands above the other two. It is a great wine - pale straw color. The aroma upon opening the bottle filled the room. The was a surprising and pleasing blast of lime I could smell from literally (I measured) 8 feet away. With air and some time to explore it, I picked up some salinity and faint nuttiness on the nose.
There's a strong mineral component on the palate - definite salty, rockiness to go along with more citrus elements, as well a some strong acidity that cut through a richness that's only hinted at right now. Finish just goes on and on. I think it will evolve tremendously, and while I wish I had more than one more bottle in the cellar, I'm happy to say this is my white wine of the year. As much praise John Paul gets for his pinots, which is well deserved, his Chardonnays are probably the best in Oregon if not the USA.