An unfortunate coincidence: my birthday (31 today), is the anniversary of Didier Daueneau’s death.

Good things, bad things…thus is life.

If this wine was a symphony…

I cannot read music, but I love this label, it’s simplicity. It makes me wonder what music most inspired this mad genius on his journey…

It was composed by Francois Cristin, a musician friend of Didier’s. It was written for trumpet (b flat major) and french horn (f major).  The first line is the theme, which is taken from a famous song by Georges Brassens, and the next four lines are Cristin’s personal interpretation of that theme.

Does anyone know the song?

2006 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly

Pale golden.

The sheer intensity, resonance and cadence of this wine begins with staccato aromatics of minerals and flint, builds with vibrato of peach skin, honeysuckle, lemon verbenna and ends with legato of dried pineapple brulee, wet stone, ancho, baking spice and treacle.

Dry and bracing tension with vigorous attack and rich intensity, quite mineral and spiced with good persistence. Concentrated stone fruit flavors with cucumber, caraway seed, pine sap, wet mineral richness and lithe structure. Lovely and complex. So mineral and saline, it draws you in with freshness and precision and becomes weighty with judicious barrel spice and herbal tones.

With a couple hours in the glass, the wine develops into notes of grapefruit syrup, chamomille, sage iced tea, ginger. Limed stone and wet rock, ginger lemonade…Volatile and a bit of heat, though I welcome the richness and weight to balance the acidity.

RIP Didier.

On the bright side of things, today we begin vendange at Domaine de Montille. We will process Volnay Champans and more. I am humbled and excited for this journey.

Bonne Vendange!

2004 Le Pergole Torte

Tasted blind.

Plum, platinum rim.

Blossoming bouquet of dust, earth and stone fruit. Dried morello cherry, dust, chalk, camphor, espresso, dried orange pith, leather and black tea. Tinny and clay, earthen, floral and dark, some graphite. Precise and elegant, quite expressive and dense.

Lovely texture and weight, spiced and aged leather, black tea, dried red flowers, orange pith, savory herbal tones, cedarbox and cherry pit. Plum coulis and walnut skin finish. Intense and coiled nature with beautiful acid spine, dense dry woody structure and hefty vinous character.

Such a baby, but we just had to…

2011 j. Brix The Augur Riesling

Kick On Ranch Vineyard

Uncontainable

2011 Vin Gris of Grenache 
Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard                                                                               Fermented in 1 neutral French Oak barrel                                                                 25 cases produced

It was a late winter evening when I opened and shared this wine. As I took in the aromas and ventured my first sip, it was as if Spring suddenly swept through, and brightened up the room…

A pale salmon hue, glowing with unabashed vibrance.

Very strong mineral aromatics, hints of green melon, strawberry, hardy kiwi, pink sage, rosehip and hibiscus. The lithe character of this wine is supported by whispers of neutral barrel spice. Every steely sip is wrapped in soft crushed floral notes and supplanted by tart, brûléed grapefruit pith.

The palate is like Spring: it blossoms.

At first bracing and intense, it is laced with take-no-prisoners minerality and acidity. Tart but welcomely so, quickly widening in the middle with tense but creamy fruit – tart strawberry, wild cherry, mandarine. In an instant, it becomes rounder, almost luscious and certainly vibrant, with saline, floral and green mango flavors before slowly retreating back into a knife edge of citrus-rock essence. And with that, the bottle is empty, the story told.

No nonsense, an über-fresh, pure and REAL bit of uncontainable vinous intensity.

I thoroughly enjoyed it with a simple arugula salad with Extra Vigin Olive Oil, a fried farm egg, cracked black pepper and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

It tasted of Spring…’Tis the season, right?

Read the story, browse the wines, become a fan.

Rose season approaches, better get this one while you can.

2007 Ryme Cellars Aglianico

Luna Matta Vineyard, Paso Robles

Dark and deep aromatic profile of black root, cherry pit, smoked lemon pith, warm stone and mineral, fernet-like dry, bitter, floral and herbal notes. Espresso and black tea, sweet rubber and dust. Quite understated.

On the palate this wine is liquid velvet despite enormous structure and a warm texture. Oh so drying, and I love it, such noble tannins. Bitter walnut skin, sappy and thick black flavors, espresso infused cranberry, pepper crusted cherry, dusty rocks, grapefruit pith and violet stems.

And with that, it’s gone.

Any curious wine-drinker wishing to explore Old-World sensibilities in the New World should jump on the Ryme wagon. The Ribolla Gialla is outrageously beautiful as well…

This is REAL wine. Go get you some.

by Seth M. Long

I didn’t know she was the Bastard Daughter. Like most, my love affair with Chardonnay had a rocky start. Her lineage was still unknown to me, I knew not from whence she came. When she met me on a whim, I had no idea that the loud and cloying, sweet and hollow frame was just an egregious impostor. This is the paradox. The ubiquity of it all has only exacerbated the problem of an already reprehensible masquerades of watered back, ethanol-laden, oak-chip saturated, indecorous and industrial swill.

When I made my judgment, I was not yet aware of her chameleon-like nature, I had not idea she was such a savvy traveler. Ignorance was not so much bliss as they say. In this case, it was a burden that I would learn to carry. Much of her beauty is easily masked behind façades – behind style. All bust and no curve, a Happy Meal version, Biggie Sized. I shudder to think back to our first encounter. The long and the short of it: we broke up before it ever started. The wine was like a one-night stand: clean but dirty, lustful and hot, awkward, quick and definitive. We’ve both moved on.

Before I saw her best work, I suffered through her worst. I came to realize she too is sometimes sullen. Can you blame her? Her power and her grace is easily misguided, her litheness and adaptability taken advantage of. While some adorn and house her lavishly, I find it rarely suits her and too often it seems, when we coax her out her glass house to play, she barely utters…

It is a shame when only her would-be pimps speak.

This is her identity crisis.

To truly know her, you must see through her faults, like anyone. When she shines, when she is permitted to thrive, this is true character. She is resilient and she is perhaps a great teacher. It was with Chardonnay that I began to see wine as a way to ground myself in place through it’s liquid. It was only after I opened my mind that I would be able to see through the paradox, to read between the wines.

This is a task anyone who desires to know Chardonnay must undertake.

Through the teachings of those more knowledgeable, I came to learn she could also speak in soft, mineral whispers, with crispness, freshness, eloquent richness. Her distinct demeanor began to enchant me as much as it annoyed me. I was intrigued, but played it cool. More and more as I delved into wine history, learned of her dirty limestone secrets, I came to adore her. I clamored for her attention, seeking the beguiling sensation of tasting through her expressions, exploring the clarity of her character.

I’ve learned to pay more attention to the details, to her comings and goings. Slowly I am learning to tune out the forceful and obnoxious habits she sometimes shows. I focus on finding the delicacy she embodies when treated respectfully.

Respect is the ultimate compliment to her.

The transparency she displays, when treated with respect, love and affection, can be breathtaking. But she has moods. I only want more of her innate character to come through, for she is beautiful without brawn, her tense robe of veracity needs little help. Liquid lambency exists within her, if you allow it, if you support the intrinsic character drawn from her roots, taken in through the light caught by her outstretched hands-those furrowed hands of stem, tendrils, leaf. Her bounty can be borrowed every year, though it must be tended, a careful guardian, a caretaker, and guide, a poet of the earth, liaison of the sun and moon, usher of the dirt.

It is like a vinous tightrope, such a thin line between ‘success’ and ‘failure’, between ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Her truths are often more palatable when subtle, more enchanting when lithe, fresh and taut. She so eloquently speaks language of crumbled limestone, weaving stern minerality into velvet stocking. She can echo the soil, shell and pebble, whisper lemon blossom and sweet herb, caress like peach skin and quench like nectarine juice. She can explain complexity of place, parse out the dynamics of wild interaction of grape, vine, human and time like no other.

You must allow her to shine in order to learn who she is.

Some of us have found a way to forgive false circumstance. We’ve seen the light that each of these authors described in their own way…about how Chardonnay has charmed her way back into our hearts.

Too many have sold Chardonnay short. It is too easy to strong-arm her charm, her grace, her transparency, to literally make a monster. She has no free-will, she is humble, pliable and honors every decision, wears these colors on her sleeve. There is nowhere to hide with Chardonnay. Look at the box store shelves cluttered with clumsy wines selling for $X.99 a bottle, but claiming no purpose to defy ease. There is power in knowing when to do nothing. She is case in point.

And what of the wildly expensive and cult bottlings? These too may reek of maligned disrespect of vine, earth and intrinsic expression. Those brooding bottles of muscle, pumped up with high glycerol, ethanol and pompous bravado. They bitch-slap you with contempt, they care neither for you to savor or share.

This project’s aim was merely to start a discussion, to raise awareness about the paradox of Chardonnay. Thank you to all those who contributed, your voice was heard! And now, a cheers to the vine, it’s caretakers, the crafters, the farmers, the vignerons… they deserve our respect and understanding. They are the ones who express the truth, who translate the vinous language of Chardonnay that so many do not want to hear.

To usher a grape that so deftly changes with site, with style of farming and vinification, is no easy task. For Chardonnay, every action is magnified in the liquid. Chardonnay is a sponge. There is nowhere to hide with her.

Does your bullshit meter go off when you look at that bottle? If it does, I urge you to put it down.

Just say no to bullshit Chardonnay. For that matter, say no to bullshit wine.

This blog, named Seler d’or, is after what I understand to be Vinous Aesthetics. This is the antithesis of bullshit. REAL wine, craft wine, grown and made clearly and without aid of makeup. Natural or not, you’d better have a good reason to be tending vine, vinifying wine, selling bottles or palates. The saying is that ‘life is too short to drink bad wine”. I’d add, life is too short to waste time on something you don’t believe in.

I urge you to vote with your dollar and buy REAL wine.

a collaborative project

#iheartchardonnay

“Dr. Gallolove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Oak.”

Authored by Michael Alberty of Storyteller Wine Company

For the past 12 years I have been in the wine business. But long before I turned pro I was a bona fide wine geek. I embraced all things cool and obscure and I quickly figured out from my various mentors what I should avoid and criticize. One of the most egregious violations imaginable would be to serve an oaky California Chardonnay to my friends. If they even saw the bottle in my house I would probably have been mocked and ridiculed.

So I learned to embrace Burgundy because hey, since they were a cooler climate and thus lower alcohol, the fruit could interact successfully with French oak barrels. Then the un-oaked, no malo craze hit America’s West Coast and it was suddenly acceptable to start drinking Chardonnay again. If it was bracing and austere, then it was hip.

But you know what? There was something missing. The other day a friend sent me some links to a bunch of YouTube videos where someone with way too much time on their hands decided to post a bunch of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden songs with just the vocals. As I sat there listening to Eddie Veddder and Chris Cornell sing a capella, it was kind of interesting but it was also missing something. There were long gaps where the power chords should be. I needed those power chords and without them my favorite songs were woefully incomplete. And I will now confess that for me personally, I want the presence of oak with my Chardonnay. My friends can mock me all they want, but life’s too short to listen to “Alive” without guitars and drums.

But that’s not the only confession I need to make. The other day a representative from Southern Wine & Spirits, the Imperial Death Star of my wine world, walked in the door with a strange looking bottle. It had two words on the label that would normally make me look for the nearest exit when placed in combination: “Gallo” and “Chardonnay.”   

“You’re kidding, right?” No the rep assured me, this was something I needed to try. It was the 2009 Gallo Signature Series Russian River Chardonnay. It clocked in at 14.6% alcohol and had sat 15 months in French and American oak barrels, most of which were probably brand new. Every conceivable warning sign in my ultra-chic wine geek brain was clanging at DEFCON 4. I knew I was going to hate it but I like to think I have an open enough mind to try just about anything (once) that someone is willing to take the time to pour for me.

I was stunned. I loved the wine. Drinking unoaked, no malo Chardonnay has been like slow dancing with someone who has 2% body fat. Sure, they can be light and nimble on their feet but the experience can also be sharp and occasionally painful. But this Gallo Chardonnay was just what I was craving. It has aromas and flavors of Golden Delicious apple skins, tropical fruit, toasted hazelnuts and butter. Yup, this dance partner had some meat on its bones and still managed to be beautifully balanced. Creamy and dreamy, with all the holes filled in quite nicely with oaky power chords. 

This Gallo experience drilled home for me something I’m always lecturing customers about, which is to drink what you like. If you like an oaky Chardonnay then be proud and drink loud. And it also reminded me how much dogmatic thinking there is in my line of work. Sadly, if you spend too much time worrying about what’s hip or cool, you may just miss something genuinely delightful. So thank you Gina Gallo for making a wine that allowed me to stop worrying about my image and  freed me to hug the oak barrels when it comes to Chardonnay.

Michael Alberty
Head Storyteller

Storyteller Wine Company is a small band of wine pirates holed up in South Portland’s John’s Landing neighborhood…After nearly twenty-some years of wandering in the wilderness, I have been lucky enough to move my family back to where we came from, beautiful Oregon. Follow me as I go out and find great wines that have an interesting story to tell. I also found a lot of boring, “corporate” wines that may have had a cute animal label and slick marketing but the story behind it was as soulless as the juice in the bottle. I look forward to being an advocate for good wines that tell an interesting story about where they come from. These will be wines where the passion of the winemaker and the fruits of their skills are evident in every glass. I truly believe that behind every great bottle of wine there’s an even better story.

Sign up for Storyteller’s electronic newsletter where Michael conveys what the wines taste like in a way that will let you know if they are your style or not. Hopefully the stories we tell will also give you a sense of the wine’s place and make you feel as if you were sipping the wine side-by-side with the winemaker or the vineyard workers.

Storyteller Wine Co.
5511-B SW Hood Avenue
Portland, OR 97239

February’s 29 days of Chardonnay

a collaborative project

#iheartchardonnay

Getting Personal, or It’s hard out there for a Chard…

Authored by Kaitlin Ohlinger

Your task, should you choose to accept it:

guess the Chardonnay producing regions by the personal ads.

Acronym Guide:

a collaborative project

#iheartchardonnay

ode to chardonnay
Authored by Allie Merrick

it was many and many a year ago
with a bottle of chardonnay
that a first fell in love
with wine in a whole new way

before this bottle
i swore an oath
to drink just red
and never both

red for me
was nearly ideal
i’d have it with
every single meal

carnivorous
when i dine
it just made sense
to drink red wine

then one day
i was poured a wine
in a home
that wasn’t mine

what filled my glass
wasn’t red
not even pink
but white instead

not wanting to offend
and come across as rude
i swirled the glass a bit
and shifted focus to my food

the focus never came
as i became distracted
it was to the aromatics
of the wine that i reacted

bright, steely notes
swirled and sped as i sat up
inhaling with intention
in attempt of keeping up

sipped and savored layers
of flavor streaking by
breathing in each nuance
i exhaled with a deep sigh

“what just happened”
i asked out loud
unaware
of the nearby crowd

“it’s chardonnay”
someone said
i grabbed the bottle
and then i read

it was indeed
chardonnay
but i’d never
had one taste that way

had i known
it could be like this
like an angel’s tear
like first love’s kiss

like heaven’s mist
and morning’s dew
like promises
and oaths held true

i would have never
turned away
and silenced a wine
with so much to say

speaking of which
here’s what it said
as i now hungered
for what it fed

while i’m not red
like cabernet
much like pinot
i have much to say

while i don’t shout
but whisper by choice
you’ll find there’s value
in my voice

i speak from vines
of burgundy
from a place
that’s called chablis

i carry with me
little weight
but substance
that will satiate

forward fruit
that will not bend
my acidity
knows no end

you’ll find that i
am beautifully brisk
worthy of one
taking a risk

the chardonnay
had made its case
and with it
built a solid base

on my palate
that now craved
chardonnay
for which i raved

cheers to you
chardonnay
may more explore
what you have to say

Allie Merrick is the co-host of My Wine Words (www.mywinewords.com),

the NW Wine Correspondent for Northwest Wines To You (www.facebook.com/nwwtywinecorrespondent)

and creative contractor under her own label Allie Merrick Inc (www.alliemerrickinc.com)

Follow her on twitter @alliemerrick

a collaborative project

#iheartchardonnay

The Art of Chardonnay

The new issue of Oregon Wine Press hit the street today. The feature article, written by Jennifer Cossey is a quick and enlightening read covering [though missing important historical facts about] Oregon’s Chardonnay renaissance.

The Art of Chardonnay

“Cherished by many who consider it one of the world’s greatest treasures, Chardonnay has gotten a bad rap from a slew of inexpensive, over-oaked versions that once flooded the market. While there was, and still is, a palate for that style — imagine buttered popcorn — the majority of people turned their attention toward lighter, more approachable white wines. Ever heard about the wine club called ABC, or Anything But Chardonnay?

The noble white has been misunderstood as it comes in different shapes, sizes and personalities. Some are fruity and tropical. Others are floral. Yet some have mineral notes. Chardonnay can be full-bodied, rich and voluptuous, or it can be ethereal.

The wine’s taste experience is vast and variable, making it one of the few wines that producers compare to an artist’s canvas. Chardonnay is a variety waiting for the influence and brushstroke of a winemaker.

In Oregon, we have a love affair with Burgundian wines, especially Pinot Noir. But it is Burgundy’s white that has a growing number of local ardent supporters. Although acreage has decreased — from 1,500 in 1995 to 950 in 2010 — love for the wine grows as more Oregon producers are attempting to craft their own Chardonnays.

The quest toward Oregon perfection is not new. ****It started in 1970, when Dick Ponzi planted the first Chardonnay vines (three acres) using clonal selection 108, also called the Davis Clones — named after the California university and research facility.

****see comments****

Others followed suit, planting 108 as well as Wente and Draper. The vines, brought up from a warmer California, seemed to grow well enough at first, but problems began occurring. They tended to ripen late, especially in colder years. Yields were low, and the dominant flavor profile was unfavorable, inconsistent and uninspiring.

A handful of pioneers believed strongly that despite the initial disappointments of the initial clones, the climate and soil, particularly in the Willamette Valley, could lend itself to world-class Chardonnay production. It was around this time that one of those pioneers, David Adelsheim, of Adelsheim Vineyards, embarked on an education and research trip to Burgundy.

He didn’t go to France solely with the purpose of finding innovations for Chardonnay, but as luck would have it, that’s just what happened.

“Before I left in the fall of 1973, there had been some interest in different clones,” Adelsheim said. “Up until that point, people didn’t really know there were subset varieties.” He ultimately returned to the States with new clones of Chardonnay called Dijon.

In 1985, following an intense quarantine, the Dijon clones became available to winemakers and vineyard owners. But, at the same time, more Pinot Noir vines were being planted and Chardonnay was losing valuable acreage in Oregon.

The costs associated with pulling out vines and replacing them with an unproven clone were expensive for a young industry. It was not a risk most people were willing to take. Those who tried the new clones were pleased with the marked improvements in regard to yield, consistency and flavor profile.

Though work still needs to be done in clonal research, producers using Dijon are, in large part, pleased with the outcome thus far. Of the Chardonnay planted in Oregon, about one-third still remains dedicated to the 108 clone. Those planted to Draper and Wente continue to thrive as they increase in age and as the winemakers and winegrowers improve their techniques. Particularly in Southern Oregon, Draper and Wente are the clones of choice because the warm temperatures negate the grapes’ propensity to ripen late, thereby improving quality.

For winemakers, choosing the right vines is only the first step. Next, decisions must be made as to how they want their Chardonnay to taste. Several choices in production (see sidebar) offer the winemaker ample opportunities to “paint” their singular version, adding a unique signature.

“The best part about making Chardonnay might be the varietal’s ability to absorb the winemaking choices and still show what’s at its core: the fruit,” said Eric Hamacher, owner and winemaker of Hamacher Wines in Carlton. “The perception of Oregon Chardonnay is at, or just passed, a bit of a tipping point. It was not so long ago that just getting somebody to try it was a victory of sorts. Although we’ve not made a lot of Chardonnay in the last decade, what has been made has made a very positive impact.”

In the late ’90s, the first wines made from Dijon clones were released, and the results were encouraging, but the work had just begun.

“It was a very slow learning curve in the beginning,” said Adelsheim. “By 1999, there were a range of really good wines being made from these new clones; so the subsequent decade was dedicated to figuring out what style these grapes needed to be made into. There was a lot of collaboration, particularly in ORCA.”

In 2000, the Oregon Chardonnay Alliance (ORCA) was founded so those dedicated to this noble white could work together toward a common goal: world-class Oregon Chardonnay. The group’s initial seven members included Adelsheim, as well as Rollin Soles from Argyle, Harry Peterson-Nedry of Chehalem, Véronique Drouhin of Domaine Drouhin, M. Eleni Papadakis of Domaine Serene, Eric Hamacher of Hamacher Wines and Luisa Ponzi of Ponzi Vineyards.

“Several wineries that had begun making Dijon clone Chardonnay got together to see how we could improve the breed, viticulturally, winemaking-wise and in marketing or awareness,” said co-founder Harry Peterson-Nedry. “We met in everyone’s cellars, did vineyard reviews, compared vintages and process differences and put together market work to get the message out that Oregon Chardonnay had been radically improved.”

A high regard for working together is a characteristic that has always set Oregon apart from other winemaking regions.

“The thing that has brought Oregon Pinot Noir as far as it has come is a combination of collaborative thinking about how we make things and what the result of our winemaking is,” said Adelsheim.

He and the others hope Chardonnay will achieve the same success as Pinot Noir.

Of the 950 acres planted to Chardonnay, only a little more than half are in the Willamette Valley. The white can also be found in the Gorge and throughout Southern Oregon.

Michael Wisnovsky, owner of Valley View Winery in the Applegate Valley, is confident the future success of Oregon Chardonnay.

“There is no other variety that we produce that sells as well as Chardonnay all year and at every holiday, event or dinner,” said Wisnovsky.

Bryan Wilson, winemaker for Southern Oregon’s Foris Vineyards, agrees: “Our warmer and drier climate generally ripens the fruit well with less botrytis pressure. There has been good Chardonnay grown in Southern Oregon for many, many years, but we may have been behind on winemaking; we are catching up quickly.”

The love of Chardonnay and the desire to see it become something more is so strong that sommeliers, winemakers and vineyard owners have come together to promote the grape. In February, an event hosted at Red Ridge Farms brought together winemakers from Adelsheim, Durant, Evening Land, Lange and Matello. Along with the respected winemakers, advanced sommelier Erica Landon led an educated discussion and tasting focused on the history, current status and future of Oregon Chardonnay.

Across the board, winemakers feel the future of Oregon Chardonnay is bright. Véronique Drouhin of Domaine Drouhin Oregon is a big believer. “It will still take a little time for Oregon Chardonnay to get the recognition it deserves, but there is no question that Oregon Chardonnay is now world class.”

A renaissance of Oregon Chardonnay is upon us. As winemakers freshen up their palettes, wipe down their easels and set to work creating what will become celebrated as one of the state’s great masterpieces: Chardonnay.”

Jennifer Cossey is a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers and a certified specialist of wine through the Society of Wine Educators. In addition to OWP, she writes for a number of other wine/culinary publications. 

Here is a link to tasting notes on thirty or so current releases of Oregon Chardonnay from the article.

Please visit Oregon Wine Press online and on twitter @oregonwinepress

Cheers!