About the Wine

Founded in 1970 by Dick and Nancy Ponzi, their 20 acres of vines southwest of Portland helped put the Willamette Valley on the map. With international recognition abound, their not only one of the top producers in Oregon but one of the finest in the world! Their vineyards have been LIVE certified sustainable since 2000 and their winery since 2008. Today the second generation is at the helm taking the winery to even greater heights! Their wines, full old world wisdom and new world energy, show why their family-run winery is operating at the most sophisticated level.

In the early 1990s, Luisa Ponzi lived and worked with one of the greatest white wine producers of Burgundy while continuing her studies in viticulture and winemaking. The Chardonnay she experienced there became a passion and, upon her return to Oregon, a mission. She has been one of the most outspoken advocates of Chardonnay in Oregon, has witnessed 3 decades of experimentation with clones and soil types, and we can say today is making some of the most compelling Chardonnay in the United States.

Ponzi was in fact one of the first to plant and produce Chardonnay in Oregon, in the early 1970s. The difficulties with those early vintages for producers in Oregon was due to the use of a warm-weather clone brought from California, which could not ripen fully in Oregon. In the early 1990s Ponzi started planting french clones, and that change altered the path of Oregon Chardonnay. Luisa went further, experimenting with additional clones and rootstocks, and then with the vinification.

Tasting Notes: An effusive nose of orange zest, jasmine, figs, flan, quince and maple. A silky textured mouth is laced with white chocolate, flan and a vein of acidity that radiates through the finish.

Reviews

This stellar reserve remains one of the finest Chardonnays from Oregon. Meyer lemon, peanut oil, salted nuts, citrus and tangerine combine in a deep and intense palate. Whole-cluster pressed and barrel fermented (but in just 10% new French oak), this delicious, dense and penetrating wine should be consumed now through the early 2020s. ~93WE

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