Chardonnay

From Loop de Loop: This Chardonnay is from 20-30 year-old vines sourced from neighboring vineyards on Underwood Mountain between 1,000 - 1,500 feet in elevation. Fermented with wild yeasts and aged in stainless steel and neutral French oak for 20 months on the lees before bottling. Aromatics of pear blossoms and orchard fruit give way to brioche, crisp apple and poached pear, finishing with lemon curd and a hint of mineral character.

We think Underwood Mountain is magical for growing Chardonnay as the varietal is extremely transparent of the place in which it is grown. You could say it expresses terroir with the utmost honesty. The high altitude brings us constant cool nights - maintaining high acids and expressing more floral characteristics than tropical.

Our proximity to the Columbia River Gorge brings high winds which thicken the skins and turn into more pronounced wines. The long cool growing season yields a wine that's balanced but often racy. This is a cool climate Chardonnay and therefore brighter and more lithe than most new world Chardonnays. On the finish the whites of Underwood often express salinity as is indeed the case with this Chardonnay.