Dusted Valley Vintners 2015 Olsen Vineyard Chardonnay, Yakima Valley, $34
One of the Walla Walla Valley’s most enterprising and successful wine companies continues to explore higher-elevation sites in the Yakima Valley for its Chardonnay, and the Olsen family’s vineyard reaches up toward the Rattlesnake Hills at 1,350 feet. The multi-faceted fermentation by the Wisconsin boys includes 20% new French oak barrels, 15 percent in stainless steel and 5 percent in concrete egg, then aged on the lees and stirred during the course of 10 months. As result, the nose is filled with lemon curd, apple pie and hazelnut. On the palate, it comes across as fruit forward, food friendly and juicy with a mix of creamy pear butter, marzipan and lemony flavors, many of the good things that Chardonnay in Washington should aspire to offer. This wine already has earned a gold medal at the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, and that probably won’t be the only hardware it merits this year. Serve it up with Clam and Leek Linguini, a recipe courtesy of Janis Frey of Savor Seasonings.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 800 cases
Alcohol: 13.6%
Leave a Reply