Eyrie’s Chardonnay story reinforces the visionary nature of its founder, David Lett. When planting Chardonnay back in 1964, he eschewed 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. Unsurprisingly, his foresight has paid off, and Eyrie now boasts some of Oregon's oldest and most revered Chardonnay vine material. Since 2015, he 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. 2021 was another low-yielding season marked by warm, dry periods punctuated by short spells of rain. The summer was warm but brought into balance by a cool close to the season in September and October, while chilly nights preserved acid freshness across the board. 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.

David Lett planted the first Chardonnay vines in Willamette in 1965, making the original Draper clone vines in The Eyrie Vineyard the oldest in the Valley. Each year, Jason Lett (David’s son and current owner/winemaker) selects the finest barrels for this bottling. Above all else, Jason wants his single vineyard bottlings to taste like the site. To this end, he takes a proportional approach, ensuring each block is represented in some capacity in the final wine. He tastes every barrel and chooses the components that play best with each other. “It’s not always my favourite barrels,” Jason tells us. “In fact, if I were to make a blend of just my favourites, it would probably taste quite boring. I often find I need to introduce a barrel that, on its own, didn’t impress me, but as a foil in the blend brings sparkle and life to the wine.” Humble and self-aware, a dangerous combination!

Jason Lett describes the 2019 autumn as one of the most Burgundian he has ever seen in the Valley, meaning the rain and cooler days that usually occur in the winter arrived earlier and were more evenly spread. It was a moderate season with good acid retention across the board. The fruit is gently destemmed, crushed and pressed slowly. Fermentation and full malolactic conversion take place in primarily old wood (9.5% new), and the wine matures in the cool cellar for a year on lees before resting further in bottle prior to release.

Mayacamas is famed today for its thrilling and ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignon, but the estate’s journey to Napa Valley icon status was propelled by acclaim for its Chardonnay. The first Chardonnay vines—all Wente clone—went in the ground at the property in 1975. After the estate’s sale in 2013 to the Schottenstein family, extensive replanting saw the retention of this classic US Chardonnay clone, supplemented by a few blocks of Dijon. The Chardonnay blocks are scattered throughout the 475-acre property (only 50 are planted to vines) and sit on various soil profiles (volcanic ash, gravelly loam, cobbled clay) at different elevations (550-650 metres) and aspects. This mélange of topographical features and clonal material paints a picture of the site, takes a snapshot in time and consistently results in a harmonious and balanced wine with mountainous character and experience-led charm.

Each block is picked separately in the cool early morning, and multiple passes are made to ensure only perfectly ripe, healthy fruit makes the cut. In the cellar, the fruit is hand-sorted and pressed predominantly (95%) as whole clusters at very low pressure. The juice is cold-settled and racked to old barrels for a long, cool primary fermentation. Importantly—and unusually for the region—malolactic conversion is inhibited at Mayacamas; it has been this way since the Bob Travers days from the 1970s to the 2000s. This gives a beautiful racy character to the broad and powerful framework of fruit. The wine then rests in barrels of various sizes with no stirring for 12 months. The use of new oak is also negligible at just one or two barrels per year… Cali Chardonnay without the make-up, if you like!

The Wingtine Chardonnay is named after a specialised cultivation tool, the wing tine shank. It is used by Radio-Coteau—and more broadly in the Sonoma Coast area—to cultivate their Goldridge (sandy loam) soils. Its unique design lifts and fractures the ground vertically and horizontally, reducing tractor passes while maintaining soil structure.

The cuvée is sourced from Radio-Coteau’s biodynamic estate vineyard and the Heintz Ranch vineyard, just a stone’s throw away in Occidental. The estate vineyard’s SeaBed plot is home to several of the Wente clones, the original of which arrived from Burgundy in 1912. Described by Robert Parker as “one of the greatest Grand Cru sites for Chardonnay in California”, Heintz Ranch is an organically farmed site with mature vines (30-plus years old) and an excellent diurnal range, ensuring fruit with rich flavours and balanced acidities. Sussman believes the balance of the two parcels delivers the most striking result.

The fruit was hand-harvested in early September from both sites, whole bunch-pressed and fermented in a combination of concrete egg, stainless steel and neutral oak. Long (16 months) maturation on lees followed with no stirring, and the wine went through full malolactic conversion before being bottled without fining or filtration.

Compared with Radio-Coteau’s Anderson Valley Savoy Chardonnay, the Wingtine has a more floral and mineral-driven style (the Puligny to the Savoy Vineyard’s Meursault?).

The Savoy Vineyard in the Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, has established a firm reputation for producing some of the north coast’s most exceptional cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The 18-hectare, southwest-facing site lies 120 kilometres northwest of the Radio-Coteau estate. Sussman has a per-acre contract and pays a premium for his fruit, so he retains control over how those acres are managed viticulturally. Low yields, green harvesting and organic farming are a few of his requirements.

Like the rest of the Anderson Valley, Savoy enjoys a pronounced diurnal range—night-time drops in temperature can be as much as 25 degrees Celsius—which brings the signature tension of Anderson Valley alongside flavour ripeness in both the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. While a who’s who of the Sonoma wine scene sources Pinot Noir from this vineyard, just over two hectares are planted to Chardonnay, going only to FEL Wines and Radio-Coteau.

Sussman works with two Chardonnay clones within the Savoy site: the Wente clone vines (50%) have small clusters and berries and a mineral profile, while the Prosser clone (50%) lends a more tropical profile to the blend. The fruit was picked in late August and was whole bunch-pressed into barrel for wild fermentation. It underwent full malolactic conversion and enjoyed a 17-month maturation on lees with no stirring in lightly toasted, tightly-grained old French oak. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration.

Compared to the Wingtine, the style is more in the classic Californian vein: richer, with a creamier feel, yet supported by mouth-watering acidity.