Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Winderlea Vineyard & Winery – Chardonnay 2018
Willamette Valley, Oregon – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
This isn’t just any Willamette Chardonnay — it’s a benchmark. Crafted from a mosaic of top vineyards: Carabella (35%) in Chehalem Mountains, Hyland (33%) & Meredith Mitchell (23%) in McMinnville, and Winderlea Estate (9%) in Dundee Hills. Together, they deliver harmony and terroir depth that rivals fine Burgundy, while staying true to Oregon character.

Aromas & Flavors
Rich layers of peach, apricot, and crisp apple glide seamlessly into notes of citrus zest and a subtle kiss of toasted oak. The aromatic lift is both elegant and generous, hinting at orchard blossoms with a faint mineral streak.

Mouthfeel
Succulent and textured, yet framed with precision. Bright acidity keeps it vibrant, while a creamy mid-palate offers weight and length. Still radiant in 2018, showing both freshness and polish.

Winemaking Notes
Fermented and aged in French oak barrels with a Burgundian sensibility, highlighting texture over heaviness. A balance of fruit purity and oak finesse.

Food Pairing
Perfect with butter-poached lobster, seared scallops, roast chicken with herbs, or creamy risotto with chanterelles. Its lively acidity also makes it a stellar partner for soft cheeses.

Verdict
A standout Chardonnay from Oregon, balancing Burgundian elegance with Willamette soul. Priced above regional peers, but every sip justifies it. Truly one of the finest examples of Oregon Chardonnay in recent years. Cheers! — 3 months ago

Vanessa

9.0

Popping a bottle of Paul Bara to celebrate a number of things, not least of which is a four-month suspension of the tariffs previously imposed on most French, Spanish, and German wine imports to the United States 🍾 🥂

Let’s hope this pause signals a forthcoming, permanent solution and favorable path forward.

This beautiful bottle of bubbles from Bouzy, Champagne, offers notes of citrus and orchard fruits such as lemon pith, tart apple, and pear, also white blossom, marcona almond, brioche, biscuit, bread dough, sourdough, and wet slate. It is nicely balanced and complex.

Cheers, friends! — 5 years ago

with Deked1

Chris

9.2

Lovely Riesling from Alsace with apple and other fruits from the orchard, crisp and dry. Beautiful day here. — 5 years ago

Conrad Green

9.7

Today notes, some sour apple, a sweetness of orchard fruit. Lovely balance, complexity and acidity.. delicious — 2 years ago

with Jean-Francois, Tony and 2 others

Dawn E.

9.6

Splurge Sunday evening! I truly was going to wait until WE vintage chart signaled ready to drink.
Second bottle of this and it is exceedingly more developed and yummy! NO regrets!
This is full of rich flavor...apple butter, pears, brioche, apple orchard, vanilla pudding, jasmine
and graphite! 😁🍅🥐🍐 — 5 years ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.3

The 2017 Pinot Bianco Vorberg Riserva is subtly sweet and perfumed in the glass, as a note of peaches-in-cream fades to yellow apple, raw almond, lemony citrus, stone dust and white flowers. It’s soothing on the palate with its silky textures, yet contrasting tension builds through gentle acids and minerals, creating a ripe yet also savory and almost-salty expression. The finish is long, resonating on ripe orchard fruits with inner florals and a hint of lime zest. (Eric Guido, Vinous, November 2020) — 5 years ago

Vanessa

9.0

Traditional method sparkling wine from Tokaj, delicious complement to the spicy tuna poké with avocado, seaweed salad, and edamame. Medium yellow hue, with flavors and aromas of orchard fruit, such as ripe pear, yellow apple, white flowers, biscuit, and a medium body, medium acidity, medium alcohol. Aromatic. Dry on the palate. Vintage 2015. ABV 13%. — 5 years ago

with Deked1

Devin Brown

8.9

The description: A wonderful bouquet of whites spices, a core of fresh pear and apple, wild white flowers and a white sand mineral quality. Youthful, complex and enticing. Satin-cream textures lead to a core of white fleshed orchard fruit flavours, some spice and mineral and acontrasting acid line. Refreshing, balanced, even and lengthy. Well made and ready to drink from 2022 through 2026.
The opinion: I agree and think we are drinking it at exactly the right time! — 2 years ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.0

This captivating Pecorino shows a bouquet of candied ginger with dusty florals, wild herbs, incense and crushed green apple. Silky and rich, yet balanced by stimulating acids and mineral-tinged orchard fruits, it tapers off spicy with a hint of sour melon that keeps the palate wanting more. $22.00 (Eric Guido, Vinous, April 2021) — 5 years ago

Vanessa

9.1

Château Climens’s Bérénice Lurton collaborated with Pascal Jolivet (best known for Sancerre wines) to produce a beautifully complex, dry Bordeaux Blanc made exclusively from the Semillon variety. This dry product is a shift from the famously sweet wines made by Château Climens in the Barsac region.

The wine is pale lemon. At first blush, the nose offers powerful citrus and orchard-fruit notes such as meyer lemon, orange peel, and green apple notes. Also delicate notes of white blossom and cherry blossom. On the palate, the wine comes alive with honeyed characters and orange blossom. It has richness and notes of croissant, cream, and brioche from aging 8 months on the lees. The finish is medium(+) and while this youthful wine is drinking well now, I believe it could age.

Château Climens, Asphodele, Bordeaux Blanc. Vintage 2018. ABV 13%.

@Delectable Wine - this wine is 100% Semillon. Cheers! — 5 years ago

with Deked1