La Combe Verte, Chardonnay, 2017
There’s as much care and attention lavished on the Combe Verte bottlings as any of the single vineyard releases and as a result this represents one of the best value New World Chardonnay’s we’ve come across. Illuminating, crispy wrought, notes of meyer lemon and white peach are fused with gunflint and fine salty stones. A taut, virile Chardonnay and unbeatable gateway to what the Willamette valley is capable of. Ageing takes place in large French oak barrels, of which around 20% is new. Battonage is kept to an absolute minimum.
critic reviews
Bright straw-yellow. Pungent, spice-tinged aromas of ripe citrus and orchard fruits; a suggestion of fennel comes up with aeration. Seamless and spicy on the palate, offering lively pear and melon flavors and a jolt of bitter lemon pith that adds back-end nerviness. The mineral-tinged finish shows strong tenacity and lingering anise and buttered toast flourishes.