Zeroing In on Oregon Chardonnays, Plus Champagne’s Cinderella Story: Weekly Tasting Report

We tasted 753 wines over the past week as we inch toward our goal of rating nearly 40,000 bottles for the entire year, with much of the team back in Hong Kong with James before he headed off to New Zealand, and Senior Editor Stuart Pigott tying up loose ends from his tasting base in Germany.

Everyone continues to articulate about the excellence of Oregon pinot noir, and, of course, it is wholly justified. However, we think that more people should be chiming in on chardonnay from the state. Take, for example, the top wines in this weekly report – chardonnays from 00 Wines.

Owners Chris and Kathryn Hermann of 00 Wines make Burgundy-inspired Oregon chardonnays with all the minerality, reductive character and tight and subtly ripened fruit that reminds James of whites from Ramonet in the 1980s.

The duo actually makes a small range of Burgundies each year. All their wines have a real sense of handmade attention to detail. Burgundian wine consultant Pierre Millemann works with them.

“We are fanatical in what we do,” Kathryn said to James in 2022 during a tasting with them in Portland.

Added Chris, “It’s meticulous attention to detail.”

They make chardonnay blends from different sites, called VGW for Very Good White and EGW for Exceptionally Good White. These are easier to find in the market. Meanwhile, the top chardonnays are single vineyards and only a few barrels are made. These are at the top of the list in this week’s report.

The Hermanns also make some fresh and well-structured pinots that are partially made in amphora. James says they continue to be some of the best in the state.

CHAMPAGNE'S CINDERELLA STORY: PINOT MEUNIER

Senior Editor Stuart Pigott tasted a bunch of Champagnes from unknown producers and was delighted to find some stars, a couple of which highlighted the still frequently untapped potential of the pinot meunier grape. With the Champagne industry’s marketing limelight firmly on the much better known pinot noir and chardonnay grapes, meunier is definitely the Cinderella of the story.

The label of the Gilles Mansard Champagne Clos de Cerseuil 100% Meunier Brut 2015 loudly declares what it is: proof of pinot meunier’s potential for greatness. It has a complex nose of champignons and Asian pears with stacks of herbal and brioche notes. It also has excellent concentration and elegance with an extremely long, delicate finish. The balance is still spot-on, but it’s not bone-dry, and those who are used to Extra Brut or Brut Nature may notice the dosage. Production is limited.

Anyone looking for a bone-dry Champagne experience with a meunier vibe are recommended to hunt down the Gounel + Lassalle Champagne Premier Cru Esprit Voyager Brut Nature NV, a pinot meunier-based blend (58 percent, plus 25 percent pinot noir and 17 percent chardonnay). It has a stunningly expressive nose of red berries, bergamot and brioche. The raciness and precision of the medium-bodied palate impressed as much as the wave of fresh croissant character at the finish.

The most exciting Champagne that Stuart encountered was the same producer’s Gounel + Lassalle Champagne Premier Cru Le Haut Belai Brut Nature NV, with its effortless balance of creamy richness and freshness. Stuart described it as “gliding over my palate and off into the distance oh so gracefully,” and we hope that’s the way 2023 ends for you.

MORE BORDEAUX 2021

In our latest tastings of Bordeaux’s challenging 2021 vintage, one standout bottle from the past week was the Château La Violette Pomerol 2021. In a year where richness, broadness and verticality were not prevalent characteristics, this wine displays a more notable level of intensity and structure. While elegance, linearity and length take center stage in this vintage, this offering showcases a bit more richness and depth. For those seeking freshness, restraint, and fluidity in red wines, the 2021 vintage can be tempting, with most bottles exhibiting excellent early appeal. The medium-bodied reds from 2021 exemplify the merits of a cool and wet year, underlining finesse and drinkability over power and concentration.

The 2021 La Violette demonstrates a bit more heft with a refined hint of oak, imparting a sophisticated touch reminiscent of cigar boxes and dark chocolate. While it seems to be a more ambitious delivery from the vintage, its ability to balance off the oak spices is apparent given its depth of fruit, balance and structural integrity. Among the Bordeaux reds we tasted this week, it is one of the few that exhibits promising aging potential, making it a 2021 Pomerol worth cellaring for a decade, if not more.

We also tasted some Rioja wines in our Hong Kong office that evoked memories of the classy Bordeaux wines we’ve been sampling. The Valenciso Rioja Reserva 2018 presents a more refined expression of Rioja, with its graphite and pencil shaving characteristics bringing thoughts of layered, cabernet/merlot-based Bordeaux wines. It serves as a compelling example of the affinity between finely crafted, French-oak-aged Rioja and Bordeaux, particularly in the northern parts of Rioja, such as La Rioja Alta and Alavesa. Equally impressive is the Valenciso Rioja Cemento 2021, a Rioja aged in cement tanks, which exhibits similar complexity and refinement but more pristine fruit. The winery, founded in 1998 by Luis Valentín and Carmen Enciso, has been dedicated to organic farming practices since 2017.

– James Suckling, Stuart Pigott and Zekun Shuai contributed reporting. 

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.