Not long ago, American Chardonnay was little more than buttery, over-oaked liquid mass produced in California. The stuff coming from Burgundy and elsewhere in the Old World grabbed the headlines, but mostly, the homegrown stuff was seen as flabby and second-tier. With the exception of the occasional producer who really turned heads (Chateau Montelena of the Napa Valley in the early 70s during the famous Judgment of Paris, for example), Chardonnay was the focus of more international producers.
That’s changed quite a bit. Winemakers all over the U.S. have been taking the varietal more seriously and learning lots along the way. Now, with a few generations under its belt, the American Chardonnay scene is stronger than ever. And the epicenter is a unique appellation in the Willamette Valley.
If you like Chardonnay, consider the Eola-Amity Hills. The first vines were planted here back in 1971, and in 200,6 the place finally got its own formal designation. While a part of the expansive Willamette Valley wine scene, it’s a distinctive sub-region thanks to cooling marine breezes and relatively shallow soils. All in all, it’s proving to be the ideal home for Chardonnay.
Eola-Amity Hills Chardonnay is austere, elegant, and refined. The options tend to be high-acid, lower-alcohol wonders with tremendous minerality. The wines have been talked about within industry circles for years, but they’re just getting the widespread fame they deserve. Case and point: The Bethel Heights ‘The High Wire’ 2023 Chardonnay just earned an unprecedented 100-point score from Decanter…