2021 Wines Chardonnay VGW

The 2021 Chardonnay VGW is dusty and floral, with a nuanced bouquet of lemon oils, nectarine and crushed stone. It’s soft and luxuriously round. Stimulating acidity balances a pretty inner sweetness as mineral-tinged orchard fruits saturate the palate. This finishes long and sapid with a spicy tension as hints of candied citrus slowly fade. The balance within is absolutely fantastic. If served blind, my mind would immediately go to Premier Cru white Burgundy.

Very pretty and perfumed nose. Super-inviting with hints of blossom, pure fruit and some gentle spiciness. It’s creamy and round, but with a core of mouth-watering acidity. Plenty of freshness, fruit purity and textural complexity. (FG)

A ripe youthful yellow hue, the 2021 Chardonnay VGW is fantastic out of the gates, with ripe aromas of white smoke, lemon balm, salty earth, and white peach. From all volcanic soils, the 2021 Chardonnay VGW is ripe through the palate with generous notes of salted pineapple fruit and a rounded feel, although it’s clean as a whistle and has a fresh lift of acidity. It is drinking wonderfully now and will drink well over the next 5-7 years. 00 Wines, founded by husband-and-wife duo Katherine and Christopher Hermann, 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 moved to a shared winemaking facility that they operate out of today. Katherine takes charge of the creative direction with packaging and communications. Her background in marketing brought her to New York City and Boulder, Colorado, working for technology startups, before arriving in the Willamette Valley. Prior to establishing 00 Wines, Christopher was a legal advisor for nearly 40 years for many of the top names in the wine and spirits industry, practicing environmental law. They are inspired by the great wines of Burgundy and implement many Burgundian techniques, advised by their consultant Pierre Millemann and their winemaker Wynne Peterson-Nerdry. Last year I was not able to taste their reds, but it proved to be well worth the wait. They display another level of purity and depth from truly exceptional sites. Also on the horizon for the 00 Wines team are two relatively new projects in both Burgundy and Champagne, which I will be able to share with our readers when I taste them in September of this year.