2021 The Eyrie Vineyards Chardonnay, Willamette Oregon

The 2021 Chardonnay Estate offers exotic aromas of ripe peaches, honey, pie crust, tangerine oil and musky floral perfume. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and expansive with an impressively concentrated core of spicy fruit. Its broad, mouth-coating texture is balanced by fireworks of fresh acidity, and it has a long, spicy finish with flavor that goes on and on.

96 points Erin Brooks robertparker.com

When planting Chardonnay back in 1964, David Lett shunned what he saw as unsuitable clones from UC Davis, choosing instead mass-selection cuttings from old vines (Draper clone, planted in the 1890s and 1930s) in California that he felt better suited to Oregon’s cooler climate. His foresight has paid off, and Eyrie now boasts some of Oregon's oldest and most revered Chardonnay vine material. Since 2015, Eyrie has included a small portion of fruit from mass-selection vines (Wente clone and Sterling clone) planted in Sisters Vineyard in the foundational Eyrie Vineyard base.

The clonal breakdown for the 2021 Chardonnay is as follows: 61% Draper Selection from 57-year-old vines on the original Eyrie Vineyard; 26% Wente clone from eight-year-old vines in Sisters Vineyard; and 13% Sterling clone from eight-year-old vines in Sisters Vineyard. Handpicked fruit was lightly pressed as whole bunches in a combination of antique basket press and Champagne cycle press. The juice was then gently run to primarily neutral French oak barrels (5% new) for natural fermentation. It underwent full malolactic conversion and matured for 11 months on lees with no stirring.