2017 00 Wines, Chardonnay “VGW” Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Tasted recently, this 00 Wines VGW Willamette Valley, really put on a nice performance on the night with fine Burgundy like details and beautiful layering, including lime, green apple, pear and quince fruits leading the way, along with clove, hazelnut, citrus blossom, steely mineral tones, wet rock, brioche, vanilla and lemon preserves. This was a tough blind, and I sure it was a Burgundy and I was leaning towards a warm vintage Grand Cru Chablis or Chassagne, so I was rightly impressed by this poised effort. Chris and Kathryn Hermann founded 00 (Double Zero) Wines in 2015 and have taken the Oregon wine world by storm with an amazing set of Pinot and Chard offerings, with this very Burgundy like Willamette Valley VGW (Very Good White) Chardonnay being an excellent example of why this winery is turning heads. A big thank you to my friend and Oregon native Josh Rose, who brought out this personal bottle of Double Zero and shared with a group of wine industry professionals that were all thrilled by this one.
The dominant soil series in the Willamette Valley include Jory, Willakenzie, and Nekia, with 00 Wines adding that, Jory soils are well-drained, fine-textured Haplohumults with a dark reddish brown silty clay loam, which give the wines their mineral driven character. The vineyards of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, where 00 procure much of the Chardonnay fruit for the VGW blend see a cool breeze most of the day and a good exposures to the sun, for ripe, but well balanced wines. 00 Wines says they work with small, independent barrel makers, “coopers”, who understand the balance and craft of creating barrels that frame their wines rather than overpower them, with Damy being one of their favorites. This pale straw/gold hued 2017 is hitting a good window and the toasty oak has integrated very well and the long finish and yeasty notes are perfectly opulent at this stage. I had been hearing lots of praise of 00 Wines, but I had not sampled any of the wines until I got to try this one and I look forward to digging into more of their portfolio of wines, including their EGW Chardonnay and their Pinot Noir offerings.
($89 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive