Evening Land Seven Springs Vineyard La Source Chardonnay 2017
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Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
La Source is the most hedonistic and full-bodied wine of our 2017 vintage. There is a breadth on the palate and a textural richness that offers great immediacy and optimal early drinking.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Density and freshness, with aromas of lemon curd and fresh flowers – a bit of spice, but the oak influence is well integrated, underpinned by a marked mineral component. The fruit comes from the base of one specific lava flow in the celebrated Seven Springs Vineyard, is vinified in 500L puncheons and sees a year in cask (10% new) and a further six months in tank. Superbly balanced and could age for a decade or more: impressive!
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James Suckling
This is showing aromas of dried green apples, beeswax, salted almonds, crushed shells, dried jasmine and flint. Medium- to full-bodied, with quietly powerful and dense layers. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Expressive and elegantly dynamic, with vibrant apple skin, crushed stone and jasmine flower accents that build richness on the finish. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay La Source is scented of poached pears, honeyed apples, hazelnut and crushed shell with gentle floral nuances. The palate is medium-bodied and silky, and it explodes with fresh fruit flavors permeated by a wicked line of crushed rock minerality and matched by tangy acidity, finishing very long and energetic. Rating: 92+
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Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman stand at the vanguard of the new world wine. Together they steward the historic Seven Springs Vineyard into its fourth decade. At Evening Land Vineyards, they strive to grow and vinify fine Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Gamay from their historic Seven Springs Estate Vineyard in Oregon's Eola-Amity Hills. Totalling 85 acres under vine; their east-facing vineyard, farmed biodynamically since 2007, was first planted in 1984, and sits atop rocky, volcanic soils.
They are, first and foremost, faithful stewards of the historic Seven Springs vineyard, planted by Oregon wine pioneer Al MacDonald in 1984. On this dramatic east-facing slope, in the iron-rich and rocky, volcanic soils of the Eola-Amity Hills, Al MacDonald undertook what would become one of Oregon's most recognized vineyards. Nestled against a forest of Douglas fir with views eastward to Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson, it is immediately evident to any visitor why Al chose this site.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.