2021 Adelsheim Vineyard Chardonnay Willamette Valley 750 ml

When we visit Oregon, we’re always prepared to taste some incredible Pinot Noir. And we’re always stunned by how Oregon’s Chardonnays compete with—and even outshine—their Pinots.

Adelsheim drove this point home. They've been growing bold, crisp Willamette Valley Chardonnay since 1972, and their expertise shines through in the 2021 Adelsheim Vineyard Chardonnay Willamette Valley. 

It amazes us that a wine with this kind of old-vine concentration and intensity is this inexpensive. It’s a knockout Chardonnay boasting weight without bulk, fruit that is just-ripe, and a gorgeous and lively undercurrent of minerals and nuttiness. For comparable quality in White Burgundy, we’d expect to pay double and triple the price!

Over 50 years ago, David and Ginny Adelsheim made a crazy wager that sounds unthinkable today. They cashed in their life savings to buy a piece of vineyard land in the Willamette Valley’s Chehalem Mountains, joining a tiny band of Pinot Noir nuts in an industry that was barely six years old. They wouldn’t make their first commercial wine for another SEVEN years. 

Their investment paid off big. Today, Adelsheim is one of the most respected wineries in the state, and many other wineries owe their existence to David’s generosity with information and time over the last 50 years.

Their 2021 Willamette Valley Chardonnay is the culmination of 45 Chardonnay harvests in Oregon. Think of all the years of toil, trial, and error that went into this wine. Or the old vines! The estate vines at the core of this wine are between 20 and 52 years of age today, which is why this Chard is so packed with stone fruit and citrus flavors.