The Batârd-Montrachet of Oregon - The Finest US Chardonnay I've Ever Had

 Oregon Rising

 - The Climate of Pre-Global Warming Burgundy

 - The Best American Chardonnays I’ve Ever Had

 - No Oak Signature

 - Saline, High Acid, Mineral-Driven

 - Only 12.8% Alcohol

 - The Burgundies of Yesteryear

 - Under $50 For Grand Cru Quality

 - Compare Negociant 1er Crus at $100++

2019 Martin Woods Chardonnay Yamhill Valley

 - The Batard Montrachet of Oregon

 - The Finest Nose on an American Chardonnay I’ve Ever Smelled

 - Smells Like a Place

 - An Amalgam of Spice, Minerals, Apple and Pear

 - A Quiet Intensity

 - Palate: Huge Power, Depth and Concentration

 - Grand Cru Grip and Persistence

 - Fleshy but Moreso Intensely Mineral

 - Elite Sweet Lime and Lemon

 - Iodine, Saline for Days

 - Opulent but Super Restrained

 - Amazing Texture and Crystalline Purity

2019 Martin Woods Gamay Noir- Nose: Elegant yet Intense Mid Season Cherry Fruit

 - As This Opens, Floral, So Many Roses

 - Tons of Earth and Herbals.

 - Big Expressive Mid Season Cherry.

 - Intense Cherry Flower

 - Palate: More Côte de Brouilly than Fleurie

 - Ridiculous Tiny Berry Fruit Intensity

"The 2019s are light-bodied and delicately styled, with the best wines offering ethereal, highly detailed perfumes—a coin flip from the gregarious 2018s, which have powerful, ripe fruits and fuller frames. I tasted several hundred wines on a two-week trip this November and was stunned by the best 2019s, many of which are the best examples I’ve tasted from a particular producer or vineyard. The best wines offer exceptional purity and aromatic complexity. They are intense yet weightless, with seamless tannins and energetic acidity. " - Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate

The Wine Advocate has just come out with its "sneak peek" of the 19s from Oregon and the scores are through the roof.

I've never seen such high scores for Oregon Chardonnay. 

Martin Woods was not reviewed in this sneak peek but Evan Martin's 19s are as profound a set of wines across the board as I've ever tasted. This 2019 Yamhill Vineyard
Chardonnay needs to get into as many hands as possible as it's a profound wine and it WILL get a high score and when it does it will be sold out and then I won't have any. So this is your last shot at a truly profound wine before it gets scored and it gets all scooped up. I think based on the other scores that WA will give this a 96+. 

Oregon Rising

I've long been a skeptic of American chardonnay. Not because I don't believe that we have the terroir to make great chardonnay (we do) but because our winemakers can't generally resist the temptation to oak the living heck out of the wines. Oh sure, there are some domestic natural wine producers that don't do this but their wines tasted like... well ok natural wines. Even the high effort California Chardonnays I've tried are still just merely good.

But, fortunately, the world is changing. And it's happening in Oregon.

For those of you who failed geography in elementary school, Oregon is at the top of the continental US, with cooler climates. This results is less sugars, less over the top fruit and less alcohol. So if you want Burgundian chardonnay, this is the logical place to start.

We recently emailed on the two 2019 Martin Woods “1er Cru” Chardonnays. Those were perhaps some of the most eye opening and paradigm shifting Chardonnays I’ve ever had in my life and cemented the idea that Oregon is the spiritual successor for Burgundy as the world’s great destination for world class Chardonnay. Oregon when it came on the wine scene in the mid 90’s as the wine region that is the same as Burgundy, my eyes rolled so hard I could not see straight. They were 15-20 years too early but when has that ever stopped marketing? But now after working with Martin Woods for a bit I’m totally convinced through his wines and the colleagues he talks about that Oregon is the new Burgundy. But having said that, Oregon Pinot Noir and Oregon Chardonnay have distinct personalities all their own. I think Oregon Chardonnay possibly has more potential than Oregon Pinot. They toe the line between geeky and cerebral a touch better than Oregon Pinot and there seem to be so many more elite players in Oregon Chardonnay early on than Oregon Pinot. There are now dozens of elite Oregon Chardonnay producers getting super high scores and acclaim and Oregon Chardonnay is only a recent-ish thing. The sky is the limit I think and in 10 years Oregon Chardonnay might be more famous than Oregon Pinot Noir. 

The Wines

That brings me to today’s first wine. This is the finest of the three Chardonnays Evan sent me and it immediately made me exclaim, “Batard Montrachet….but from Oregon!” This wine is insane. The 2019 Martin Woods Chardonnay Yamhill Valley vineyard for $47.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is firmly in the Fass 4-3-1 plan. You have to drink one young as it’s a thrill a minute drinking. 

Yowza. The “Grand Cru.” which is obvious as soon as one smells it. An amalgam of spice, minerals, apple and pear. But heirloom apples and yes there is a difference. Just insane unreal aromatic complexity. So serene. So calming. So zen. I love the calming complexity of this wine. So clean. It smells beyond a sense of place. It smells like a place. Get the perfect scene in nature and trap it in a sno-globe and freeze it and that’s this nose. The nose has a quiet intensity. Like if you ask Phillip Seymour Hoffman a question in an interview setting and he is listening intensely but saying nothing. That type of quiet intensity. Gorgeous lime drop after hours that is so intense and so pure one wonders if lime drops are in this wine. A sick wow nose. 9.8 nose. Simply the finest nose on an American Chardonnay I’ve ever smelled. That nose is, dare I say, Brisset like? It’s so complex and compact. Just insane. 

Huge power, depth and concentration with almost tannic elements on the finish. Easily the star of the spectacular 2019 trio but really needs a few hours to strut its stuff. The epic long finish is the giveaway that this is Batard level quality. Wow this is sappy and complex to the max. Saturates the palate with Grand Cru grip and persistence. It’s fleshy but also intensely mineral so you only get like 10% fleshiness and 90% delicate, searing and intense minerality. This is genius. Unreal palate. The purest American Chardonnay I’ve ever had. Sweet lime and lemon that are super elite. Iodine. Saline for days. Opulent but super restrained as the minerality is explosive. Heaven. Elegant, concentrated and pure like nothing else. Batard or Puligny Montrachet 1er cru. Amazing texture and crystalline purity. Just a drop dead stunning wine and best American Chardonnay I’ve ever had. This is great today but will get immeasurably better with age. Buy 4. Drink one. Age 3 for around 5-7 years. This is limited and if I get cut back I’ll look at your Koosah and Havlin Chardonnay orders. 

The next wine is the 2019 Martin Woods Gamay Noir. Yes. Gamay. It is $37.99 a bottle on a 4-pack.

The headline is, "If Hanspeter Ziereisen made Gamay in the great old vine Godefroy vineyard of Chateau Thivin." That's what it reminds me of. Yup. This wine is as serious and joyful a Gamay I've ever sold. I don't need to sell Gamay from Oregon but after tasting this profound wine I had no choice. Vinous will eventually do a piece on "The Other Oregon" where Evan's Riesling, Gamay, Gruner and Cabernet Franc will be receiving high ratings.

The Vineyards

Half of this wine is sourced from a brand new 1 old AVA called "Tualatin Hills"(The Tualatin Hills AVA is the northern most location within the Willamette Valley) and the other half is from the great Havlin vineyard in the Van Duzer corridor. The Tulatin Hills fruit brings very pretty delicate aromatics, deep red fruit, and a light texture with lifted red fruits and spice. These are 15 year old vines. The soils have massive quartz deposits that are bigger than anything in the Williamette Valley. The other half is from the Havlin Vineyard in the Van Duzer Corridor. Sediment soil that is exceptionally well drained. Vines are stressed. Like mega stressed. Like me during shipping season. The clusters are 75% smaller than normal Gamay. Pinot sized berries. Massively thick skins. This gives the wine tons of textural muscle, concentration and depth. Huge aromas and a beefy texture.

When you combine both of these terroirs you get a complete and masterful and very serious Gamay.

The Nose. Very pretty and very serious nose of elegant yet intense mid season cherry fruit. Lots of earth and very complex. Lots of aromas to unfurl. Very very deep and layered. After 5-6 hours of air the nose is has superb smokey complexity. It's also more gamey, more feral. Tons of tangy blackberry, ripe black cherry and such purity. Reminds me of Thivin. So much mineral and loam. Bright and earthy. Super detailed and great clarity. Mimics Cote de Brouilly. On day 2 it is more floral and has deeper fruit. So many roses, such pretty aromas with tons of earth and herbals. Big expressive mid season cherry. Also intense Cherry flower. This nose never stops opening and leveling up. 

What a palate. More Côte de Brouilly than Fleurie. It's a sexy, elegant beast. It’s more refined than the 18. Such sappy fruit and ridiculous tiny berry fruit intensity. Long, grippy and sappy. Wow, really long. Deep, layered and long with terrific structure. Amazingly pure cherry fruit that is perfectly ripe and fresh. Awesome texture and sappiness. Such vibrancy and tangy blackberry and deep, vivid black cherry fruit. Terrific freshness and energy and Rudi cloud fruit sap on the long finish. Dynamite. So complex and classy. Really great tension and the minerality shines through. So much crunch. Nose opens more and more. Amazing balance. Really terrific freshness here. Impressive inner mouth florals and a deep structure to age many years and it needs maybe 3-4. Very impressive. Balance on this is extraordinary. What a wine.  On day, 2, the palate has sap and energy with more even more clear and vivid fruit. Long and super juicy. Terrific structure. Dynamite. This is awesome today with a healthy decant but was better on Day 2 which suggests a long life.

I have zero hesitation in saying this can age 15+ years and needs 3-4 years in the cellar. One of the most revelatory wines of the year for me.

2019 Martin Woods Chardonnay Yamhill Vineyard - $49.99

($191.96 4-Pack) 

2019 Martin Woods Gamay Noir - $39.99 ($151.96 4-Pack)