Walter Scott Cuvée Anne Chardonnay 2024

Chardonnay

White grapes are crushed before pressing, fermented with native yeast in 350- and 500-liter French barrels with most of their lees, stirred as little as possible, and aged a full year in wood plus three to four months in steel.

• Chardonnay Cuvée Anne A barrel selection; the 2023 draws on Justice, Koosah, Sojeau, Witness Tree and X Novo, with 12 months in 350- and 500-liter French oak, 45 percent new, then four months in tank. The single-vineyard cellar in one bottle.
• Chardonnay La Combe Verte The Willamette Valley Chardonnay, raised in large French barrels, about 20 percent new, with minimal stirring. It gets the same handling as the single-vineyard wines at a lower price.
• Chardonnay Freedom Hill Marine-sedimentary soils in the Mt. Pisgah AVA and about 50 percent new French oak. Fuller in frame than the volcanic Eola-Amity Chardonnays, held tight by early picking.
• Chardonnay X Novo A 2-acre block planted from 2010 by Craig and Robin Williams with as many as 15 Chardonnay clones, California heritage selections alongside Dijon clones, on rocky clay at 525 feet by Holmes Gap. Twelve months in 350- and 500-liter barrels, then three in steel; the flintiest, most reductive white in the range.
• Chardonnay Koosah Five clones planted in 2016 on volcanic soil at 720 to 1,080 feet, co-fermented. The 2023 spent 12 months in 350- and 500-liter French oak, 65 percent new, then about three months in steel.
• Chardonnay Seven Springs From the south ridge of Seven Springs, an organically farmed Eola-Amity Hills vineyard that sells fruit to very few producers; Rajat Parr of Evening Land vouched for Walter Scott to get it.
• Chardonnay Justice From the 40-acre home vineyard, farmed by the Casteel family on Jory and marine-sedimentary soils.
• Chardonnay Bois-Moi A one-off 2020 blend of six sites, including X Novo, Seven Springs and Freedom Hill, fermented with native yeast and finished in large oak. Built to drink young.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is mostly destemmed, with up to 30 percent whole clusters depending on the vintage, fermented with native yeast, extracted gently with a mix of pigeage and pump-overs, and aged 10 to 15 months in French oak.

• Pinot Noir Cuvée Ruth Named for Ruth and Irv Kantor, the late parents of partner Sue Steinman. A barrel selection; the 2022 drew on Justice, Koosah, Sojeau, Temperance Hill, Witness Tree, Bracken and X Novo, with 5 percent whole clusters and 10 months in French oak, 30 percent new.
• Pinot Noir La Combe Verte The Willamette Valley blend and the label's first wine, in 2009. The 2024 combines volcanic Eola-Amity fruit from Distraction, Sojeau, Temperance Hill and Witness Tree with old-vine Freedom Hill, aged 10 months in French oak, about a quarter new.
• Pinot Noir Sojeau Vineyard A southwest-facing rocky slope on three volcanic soil types, planted to Pommard, Wädenswil and Dijon 114. The 2023 co-fermented all three clones with about 30 percent whole clusters and spent 15 months in French oak, 35 percent new.
• Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vines planted in the early 1980s on marine sediment in the Mt. Pisgah AVA; the 2022 had about 5 percent whole clusters and 15 percent new French oak. The counterweight to the volcanic Eola-Amity Pinots.
• Pinot Noir X Novo From the same windy, rocky-clay site at the edge of Holmes Gap as the Chardonnay; dense and flinty.
• Pinot Noir Koosah Volcanic soil at 720 to 1,080 feet, about 55 miles from the Pacific, with a clear maritime influence. Resonance bought the vineyard in 2022.
• Pinot Noir Witness Tree Named for an oak that served as a pioneer survey marker, on volcanic Nekia and Jory soils. The 2022 included some whole clusters and was raised in neutral to lightly used French oak.
• Pinot Noir Justice The home vineyard, 40 acres farmed without herbicides by the Casteels; Pahlow pursued this fruit for five years before he got it.
• Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Planted in 1990 at about 800 feet, dry farmed and farmed organically. Aged mostly in neutral French oak.

Other wines

• Pinot Blanc Fir Crest From 1.8 acres of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris planted in 1985 on silt clay loam at the southwestern edge of Yamhill-Carlton, ringed by Douglas fir.
• Aligoté X Novo Aligoté from the windy X Novo site in the Eola-Amity Hills; reductive and stony, with the structure to age.
• Aligoté X Saxa Lightly crushed, fermented with native yeast and aged 10 months on its lees in two 350-liter barrels, keeping about 25 percent of its malic acid. Farmed organically.
• Gamay Arlyn Gamay Noir from Arlyn Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains, one of the few reds in the range that is not Pinot Noir.
• Arlyn Passetoutgrain A Passetoutgrain-style red from the same Arlyn Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains.