Patricia Green Cellars Chardonnay Four Winds 05: A Chablis style Chardonnay, a wine that is full of lemony goodness, a dollop of crushed oyster shell and some spice on the finish. This is a lean, mean fighting machine. Not for everyone but you will love it if this in your genre of Chardonnays. -Jim
Not to be left out of the discussion of wines from this vineyard would be the Chardonnay. We have developed more of an appreciation for this vineyard's ability to give us the kind of fruit we wanted as we figured out more and more what kind of wine we wanted to make from this site. All the new barrels are long gone and at this point the newest barrel in the Chardonnay has been used five times. We are also starting to pick at a point where we still have some greener berries mixed into some of the bunches. That gives us a hint more acidity than we have had in the past pushing the wine further and further into the lemon candy/lemon curd flavor profile that we love and are trying to coax out of our wine. In 2003 and 2004 we felt as though we were looking to the wines of the Macon or village level Meursaults for our inspiration. - the winery
Not currently available to order.
May be out of stock or sold out. Inquire at 541-752-7418 or store@avalonwine.com
Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:
2003 Vintage Tasting Notes
Lush fruit and medium-body are the dominant qualities of this wine. There are very nice aromatics of pears, apples, baking spices and dried hay. The wine has the viscous texture that is the hallmark of the vintage but is not heavy in the least. In fact it has just enough weight to carry the flavors through to a spicy, long and satisfying finish that is tinged with a touch of lemony acid that lifts rather than sheers off the fruit.
First vintage in two years, Patty declassified the previous two vintages as not good enough.
From the winery: "After a year's hiatus from making potable Chardonnay we are back with a vengeance! Four Winds is better known for its Pinot Noir but in 2000 we produced a vineyard designated Chardonnay as well. In 2001 we made a blend, in 2002, well, we will not talk about that if you will not ask. We hit the nail on the head though in 2003. Because of the Coast Range foothills' setting for this site it is pretty cool and we always pick these grapes last. With the inordinately warm temperatures in the fall though this site really benefited and the Chardonnay ripened evenly and earlier than normal.
Still, we are not attempting to make a big, oily, oaky wine. This wine's roots are in the Macon and village Meursaults! We used 40% stainless steel and 60% neutral oak barrels to enhance the lush fruit and medium-bodied qualities of the wine. There are very nice aromatics of pears, apples, baking spices and dried hay. The wine has the viscous texture that is the hallmark of the vintage but is not heavy in the least. In fact it has just enough weight to carry the flavors through to a spicy, long and satisfying finish that is tinged with a touch of lemony acid that lifts rather than sheers off the fruit. This is definitely not your ordinary Oregon Chardonnay! 330 cases produced."
