26 June 2025
Our resident Bordeaux expert Tom Jenkins gives us insight into what he's drinking right now.
Tom Jenkins
My wine tastes have been described at various times as: unadventurous, conservative, unimaginative, narrow-minded, even boring! Having been in the industry for going on for 25 years, I’ve tasted a lot of wines, and it’s fair to say, I know what I like, and perhaps more importantly, what I don’t like... Until recently, my palate was mainly restricted to Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, but lately I’ve been drawn to a growing number of Californian and Oregon producers. One in particular, Walter Scott, has become a mainstay in my weekly drinking.
At first glance, the Willamette Valley is a far cry from the Cote de Beaune. However, founder and winemaker, Ken Pahlow is heavily influenced from his time working with Dominique Lafon in Meursault. His wines offer an aromatic profile not dissimilar to Roulot, Coche and PYCM with notes of struck match and gunflint, combined with the texture and warmth of Oregon Chardonnay. I love them from the entry level La Combe Verte to the flagship X Novo; they never fail to impress. If you’d like to try out one of America’s finest exponents of Chardonnay, I’d suggest the 2022 La Combe Verte at £33.66 per bottle UK including taxes as a great starting point. It’s delish!
Salty crisp white fruit, a flash of smoke, then fine crushed rock aromas. This is fresh and snappy, but with impressive fruit concentration with smoky pithy citrus highlights on the finish. Offers some real class at its price point. If taut gunflint, citrus and struck match flavours are those you seek out in your white Burgundies, this will appeal.
Walter Scott 2022 La Combe Verte at £33.66 per bottle UK including taxes.
In the decade since their first bottling, this husband and wife team has created a reputation for producing some of Oregon’s most exciting wines. They are hard to come by, produced in tiny quantities, and beloved by critics. We would go so far as to say these are some of the most immediately impressive Chardonnays we’ve come across from the new world and so we were delighted when they offered us a direct allocation, putting these on British soils for the very first time.