2020 Chardonnay
Made in the traditional Sur Lees style, this lush wine is rich in tropical fruit, hints of pear, refreshing citrus overtones and a touch of minerality.
Brilliant yellow straw color.
The Chardonnay grapes we grow here in the Columbia Gorge are richer in depth and complexity than grown in other regions in Oregon. This is a classic grape used often in French champagnes. From our Block A, this Chardonnay is beautiful straw color, hint of sweetness, touch of oak and kiss of cream, dry with a hint of acid and citrus and pear.
We picked all at 23.5° brix, destemmed, pressed and allowed the grapes to wild ferment in bins at 65° for 3 days, then inoculated with a yeast for another 7 days and transferred to light French oak barrels to barrel ferment and age for 9 months. Minimal Malolactic is used.
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Appellation | Columbia Gorge |
| Vineyard | Estate Grown Hood Crest |
| Harvest Date | 09/13/2023 |
| Sugar | <.02 |
| Acid | 6.7 |
| PH | 3.48 |
| Aging | 9 Months Barrel Fermented |
| Residual Sugar | 0.2% |
| Alcohol | 12.00% |
| Wine Style | Sur Lees |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 06/23/2021 |
| Cases Produced | 305 |
| Country of Origin | UNITED STATES |
| State of Origin | Oregon |
2019 Wine Press Northwest 20th Annual Platinum Platinum
2019 San Francisco Chronical Wine Awards Gold
2015 Best of The Bite Gold
2022 Boston Wine Awards. Silver
2020 San Francisco Chronical Wine Awards Silver
2020 Wine Enthusiast 87 Points
The spring of 2020 showed slightly cooler weather from 39°-50°then plunged into hot temperatures the end of March from 75°-95° through September, while June, July and August showed spikes over 100-105 °. Cool mornings better than average rainfall for this year. This vineyard produced very lovely large sized fruit with large fragrant clusters as this berry produced a rich brown seed and the golden green skins and white flesh Columbia Gorge Chardonnay is known for.
Winemaker Tess Barr is one of the less than 10% of lead women winemakers nationwide and proud to be part Woman Winemaker Project. A patented formulator, and decorated with 35 issued US Patents, Ms. Barr has filed over 100 inventions at the USPTO.
