Aromas of lemon blossoms, sweet caramel, and crisp pear. Sweet and appealing pear, peach, and apple flavors are layered with minerals, slate, and a hint of Asian spice. The St. Innocent Anden Chardonnay 06 finishes with more minerality and a clean, fresh spring waterlike sense, tempered by rich texture and length.

St. Innocent Chardonnay 06's winemaker, Mark Vlosak, says this about the 2006 vintage:

"Carmelized pear and ripe citrus aromas are followed by ripe pear and with hints of ginger. This Chardonnay has bright acidity, rich textures throughout the palate and loads of sweet fruit into the finish. The oak component is completely integrated, adding fullness to the texture and length to the finish."

Tasting Notes, 2005 Vintage

From the vineyard formerly called "Seven Springs". This wine is very layered and has an incredibly long finish.

From the winemaker: "Anden Chardonnay is both fruit and texture driven. For me, great Chardonnay must have lovely fruit, acidity, viscosity, and complexity of flavor. The wood must be in balance and act to compliment the wine, not be "catnip for humans". When Chardonnay is truly layered and in balance, it is very versatile to eat with, and fun to drink. I fully agree that most Chardonnays are mono-chromatic and out of balance. This wine is very layered and has an very long finish.

Try Anden Chardonnay with grilled chicken, the classic lobster, or even foods as flavorful as duck breast. For reasons that I can not explain, the Chardonnays from this site are fantastic with ASPARAGUS. Yes, the bane of wine, it actually brings out the fruit and tastes lovely.

Tasting Notes, 2003 Vintage

Anden Vineyard (formerly part of Seven Springs Vineyard) overlooks the fertile Willamette Valley from its position in the hills west of Salem. Growing on a steep southeast slope, the vines are protected from maritime winds by a fold in the hills. The soil is shallow clay over fractured rock at an elevation of 400'. The vineyard was planted with Dijon Chardonnay clones 76 and 96 in 1995. These clones ripen fully in Oregon's cool climate and are picked at the same time as Pinot noir.

More than a decade ago, it was clear that the future potential for Chardonnay in Oregon would lie in newly available clones from Burgundy-the 'Dijon' clones. As soon as these were available in commercial quantities, I contracted with the growers of Seven Springs (now called Anden) Vineyard to replace all of our California clones with the newer plantings. Production began 1998 and as the vines get older, the resulting wines improve.

The Seven Springs Dijon clone Chardonnays have a Puligny-like character: sweet fruit and spice with great length. The Freedom Hill Dijon clone Chardonnays are more Mersault-like, darker fruit with a stony minerality and rich textures in the mouth.