The Willamette Valley Chardonnay is sourced from young vines planted in the Freedom Hill vineyard. 2024 is the fourth vintage of this Chardonnay bottling, and this one is produced from two vineyards I love and respect tremendously: Durant Vineyard and Freedom Hill Vineyard (about 50% percent each). I’ve put them in a label drawn by my younger daughter, Violet, depicting a snowy owl about to light onto a Western hemlock branch. The 2024 is a pale, shining gold and brilliantly transparent. The rich, creamy tropical fruit nose with powdery minerals continues in the mouth with a pleasing heft without the weight. Like a beautiful raindrop shaped by our Earth’s gravity but in a texture. Long finish. This Chardonnay is unadorned with new wood but still benefits from oak tree energy and the cool minerality of concrete amphora tanks.
