2021 00 Wines Chardonnay Chehalem Mountain, Willamette Valley

Single vineyard Chardonnay from Chehalem Mountain, the 2021 vintage, is the best I’ve tasted from the estate, and it kept getting better going back to it over 30 minutes. It was hard to pick my favorite between the Seven Springs and the Chehalem Mountain, but with time, this came out a ‘nose’ ahead (no pun intended.) Glorious aromas pounce from the glass - think fruit notes of white nectarine, freshly sliced apple, and kumquat zest combined with dusty earth, fresh linen, and lemony herbal tones. Acidity is a touch higher than the Seven Springs and made with just a pinch more elegance. Fragrant, light on its feet with incredible power, in a blind it could easily be mistaken for a highly rated Grand Cru Burgundy. An almost perfect Chardonnay that I highly recommend. Editor’s choice. 158 cases produced.

99 points JY internationalwinereport.com

00 Wines is a global luxury wine house that specializes in rare Pinot Noir and Chardonnay bottlings from Burgundy, Champagne and the Willamette Valley region of Oregon. The winery was officially founded by the Hermann family in 2015, and has hit the ground running, producing world-class wines ever since. 

It all began when Dr. Richard Hermann and his wife Freya Hermann emigrated from Europe to the United States after WWII upon the impending birth of their only son, Chris. They settled in Willamette Valley, Oregon where they both became beloved professors and scientific researchers at Oregon State University contributing significantly to their fields of study: forestry and pharmacy. 

The Hermann Family’s entrepreneurial vision goes back for many generations to include a mineral water bottling business and a textile business in Germany, and a Douglas Fir nursery in the United States. As the head of the family today, Chris Hermann and his wife Kathryn turned their attention to the world of fine wine, and have co-founded 00 Wines.

Chris Hermann has served the wine industry for nearly four decades as a legal advisor to some of the top wine houses, domestically and internationally. He originally worked as an environmental lawyer specializing in land use and water rights.  Chris authored and now is editor of the only comprehensive discussion of legal issues concerning the Oregon wine industry entitled, The Law of Wine – Oregon.  Today, Chris stewards the winemaking at 00 Wines, working with winemakers, Wynne Peterson-Nedry (Willamette Valley) and Pierre Millemann (Burgundy) in their quest to produce world-class, cool climate wines in the Old-World and the New World.

Kathryn Hermann leads the 00 Wines creative and marketing team to showcase the incredible detail and dedication of the winemaking team. Her former career was in high-tech startup marketing and software development, now inspires her modern twist on fine wine communications. Kathryn’s experience is quite evident in the beautiful marketing and stunning presentation of the wines.

It didn’t take long for our editorial team to fall in love with 00 Wines, it happened instantly upon our first encounter with the wines from the 2016 vintage. Our admiration of the wines has only grown since, and today with our recent tasting of the 2018 vintage, our appreciation for the wines has soared to new heights. The wines are some of the finest examples of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay we have ever tasted, not only domestically, but from anywhere in the world. The wines impressed us with their remarkable complex character, in combination with gorgeous texture, balance and striking precision. The quality of 00 Wines is unmatched to anything else we have seen from the region and they should certainly not be missed by any wine lover, especially those that love the pure, classic expression of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The 2018 vintage from 00 was exceptional across the board. It was highlighted by the 2018 ‘Freya Hermann Cuvée’ Chardonnay, which is amongst the highest scoring domestic Chardonnay earning an outstanding 99 points from our editorial team. This was closely followed by both the ‘Richard Hermann Cuvée’ Chardonnay and the ‘Kathryn Hermann Cuvée’ Chardonnay, both earning an incredible 98 points