A captivating example of why the Eola-Amity Hills may just be America's best Chardonnay appellation. From the famed Eola Springs site's Block H, with a mix of Dijon and California heritage clones. The Chardonnay protocols at 00 Wines include agressively pressing the wines, allowing it to oxidize in the pan, and elevage includes all the heavy lees. The goal is to maximize the phenolics and all the good stuff, known in Burgundy as the ‘Black Chardonnay’ method.A depth of lemon curd, rich ripe Brazilian papaya and notes of roast almond skin alight the glass with a piquant seaspray saline freshenss. The palate is lush, citrus cream, clover honey and fleshy ripe peach. A dazzling minerality finishes this wine so impeccably fresh.

Pouring a bright straw/yellow hue, the 2022 Chardonnay Seven Springs Vineyard offers lifted, flinty, and reductive notes upon opening, with aromas of crushed stones, salted pineapples, lime leaf, and vanilla. Coming from the Eola-Amity Hills, this medium to full-bodied Chardonnay boasts lovely richness balanced with a weightless feel and features a silky texture with a long-lasting finish. It’s a gorgeous wine from Kathryn and Christopher Hermann, perfect for enjoying over the next 10-15 years. Now in their tenth vintage, 00 Wines has expanded to an annual production of 5,000 cases in Oregon and includes their wines from both Burgundy and Champagne, which are featured in this report. Founded by husband-and-wife duo Katherine and Christopher Hermann, they exclusively produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They derived the name “00” from numerology and say it represents true and absolute potential. Their first vintage was in 2015, and in 2017, they relocated to a shared winemaking facility that they currently operate out of. Katherine takes charge of the creative direction with packaging and communications. Her background in marketing led her to New York City and Boulder, Colorado, where she worked for technology startups before arriving in the Willamette Valley. Before establishing 00 Wines, Christopher served as a legal advisor for nearly 40 years to many of the top names in the wine and spirits industry, specializing in environmental law. They are inspired by the great wines of Burgundy and implement many Burgundian techniques, guided by their consultant, Pierre Millemann, and their winemaker, Wynne Peterson-Nerdry.

The 2022 Chardonnay Seven Springs is dynamic and expressive! White peach, lemongrass and panna cotta are underpinned by wafts of flint, allspice, honey and almonds on the nose, and as it opens in the glass, it reveals soaring floral perfume. The medium-bodied palate offers complex, highly concentrated flavors, and its new French oak is already well integrated. Its satiny, mouth-coating texture is foiled by vibrant acidity, and it has a very long, nuanced finish. It continued to improve for several days after the bottle was opened and should be long lived in the cellar.

Delicate and floral in the glass, the 2022 Chardonnay Seven Springs blossoms with a bouquet of chamomile, mint and yellow apples as a hint of smoky reduction adds lovely contrast. Supple and round but also quite savory, this washes across the palate with a salty mix of white pit fruits and lime as exotic inner spice tones arc across the palate. It finishes like liquid potpourri, saline and long, leaving a crunchy sensation and a citrus tinge that linger so long. The 2022 is a spice box with many years of evolution ahead of it.