North America | Oregon | Fossil & Fawn | Oregon Chardonnay

Oregon Chardonnay

VARIETAL
Chardonnay (60% from Eola-Amity Hills (Willamette Valley)/40% from Umpqua Valley)

NOTES
VINEYARD: Keisha's Vineyard (Willamette Valley). Jim and Jenny call this "Keisha's Vineyard" even though it really doesn't have a name. It's farmed by Keisha Keller and her husband John. For most of its existence, the grapes from this vineyard were bottled by Walter Scott Winery under the name of "Clos des Oiseaux". Following the dissolution of the partnership with Walter Scott, the Kellers decided to keep the vineyard nameless, but Jim and Jenny like informally naming it after the farmer. The vineyard is located on the east side of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. It shares a property line with Cristom and X-Novo Vineyards. The 17-year-old (Dijon clone 76) vines are planted on alluvial deposit over marine sediment. It has been farmed organically since it was planted in 2002. Harvested 9/30/19.
Rebecca's Vineyard (aka Sophie's Vineyard) is located in the upper northwestern corner of the Umpqua Valley, nestled into the eastern edge of the Coast Range, which means it behaves climatically much more like the northern Willamette Valley. Depending on who you ask, the vineyard was planted sometime either in the mid-80s or the early-90s, by Sophie Lerro, who has one of the craziest life stories you’ve ever heard. A native New Yorker, she allegedly fell in love with Oregon during a stint in a traveling circus. A career in the US Merchant Marine earned her enough to retire to Oregon and establish the vineyard. Nobody can say definitively who Rebecca was, or why Sophie named the vineyard for her. With some outside help, Sophie managed the vineyard herself for decades until she passed away in 2018. Her son, Chance, now manages the vineyard. The chardonnay planted here is Draper Selection). Harvested 10/2/19. Both vineyards are non-certified organic.

VINIFICATION: Everything was pressed, settled, and barrel-fermented with native yeast in a mix of Oregon and French oak. This is the second-ever bottling of Chardonnay by Fossil & Fawn (first was 2018 vintage).
124 cases produced

TASTING NOTES: Bright acidity, quite rich texture.