Stoller Family Estate 2019 Chardonnay, Dundee Hills, $25

This marks the second consecutive vintage for which we’ve given our top rating to Bill Stoller’s team for their flagship Chardonnay, which is one of Oregon’s most important examples because of the scale of its distribution across the country. Vineyard stewardship by Jason Tosch across the McDougall Road property where Stoller grew up takes in 400 acres, which makes it the Dundee Hills’s largest contiguous vineyard. Melissa Burr and her winemaking crew work with four Chardonnay clones on the estate – Dijon 76, 95, 96 and 548. It’s a blend presented amid a fermentation program that’s dominated by stainless steel to showcase freshness, with complexity added by concrete fermentation (7%) and neutral oak (5%). The nose is lemony and minerally with light hints of fresh-baked bread and Harvest Snaps Green Pea Snacks. Inside, Asian pear, Meyer lemon and jasmine tea lead to a refreshing burst of blood orange in the finish. And while they’ve increased production by 33% percent from the 2018 vintage, the standard remains at a lofty level. Enjoy this with Stoller chef Becca Richards’s take on chicken salad and popcorn. Watch her entertaining prep at Stoller.TV.

Rating: Outstanding!

Production: 10,000 cases

Alcohol: 12.5%

Winery’s website