Amalie Robert Chardonnay Dijon Clone 09

Previous Vintage Tasting Notes

2007 Vintage Tasting Notes

The nose is intoxicating with both fruity pineapple and lemony floral tang and a touch of saffron wafting at the tail. Delightful. The subtle mouth shows ripe apple that carries through with mineral notes. Warming up in the glass brought out a touch of white peach at the back of the palate. Soft and light with a lingering finish. Not too much weight at all. Dijon clone Chardonnay with it's tropical fruitiness done without oak can be the truest expression of Chardonnay. You definitely taste the crisp juicy fruit of the grape, which is a beautiful thing.

Suggested food pairings: Oregon Dungeness crab cakes with roasted red pepper aioli, pan seared scallops over organic greens with pan drippings, oysters on the half shell with a drop or two of Jalapeņo Tabasco, smoked black cod with mango salsa, and especially Pacific Rim cuisine.

This Chardonnay was 100% cold fermented in stainless steel using Dijon fruit from a vineyard north of Monmouth, Ore. next to the Croft vineyard. Only 200 cases were made of this wine. -M.S.

You gotta love the Chardonnay coming out of Oregon these days. Long gone are the under ripe Chards made from the original hot weather Davis 108 Chardonnay clones. For the past 15 years, the early ripening Dijon clone has made great headway into the vineyards of the Willamette Valley with terrific results. Lush tropical flavors mingle with exuberant fruit. The technique of a cold fermented Chardonnay that never sees oak has really taken off over the last five years with dozens of New World wineries letting the fruit talk for itself.

From the winery:

For the second year in a row, this remains a very unique Oregon Chardonnay. This wine was fermented in stainless steel at cool temperatures to capture the inherent character of Chardonnay. We wanted to produce a wine that tasted more like the fruit we hand harvested, and not like an old barrel.

The wine is even more unique in that it did not undergo a second or "Malolactic" fermentation. Malolactic fermentation converts Malic acid into Lactic acid. Malic Acid provides the sensation of tart green apples and provides a natural balance to the wine. The result is a wine with very true Chardonnay character.

The fruit for this wine is from 3 small blocks containing 2 Chardonnay clones. The blend is 26% Dijon clone 95 and 74% Dijon clone 76. The combined yield of these three blocks was 2.5 tons per acre. The wine is a great match for oysters, crab, grilled seafood, roast chicken and Pacific Rim cuisine.