The 14-acre estate Truffle Hill vineyard is so named because it’s also home to three acres of hazelnut trees that were inoculated for black truffles. The orchard was planted in 2006, and has so far yielded only a trifling number of the prized fungi, but the wine does not disappoint.
The winery barrel fermented the Chardonnay in 500L French oak puncheons, 20 percent new, and aged the wine for nine months before bottling. The result is lithe and elegant, light colored with a fresh-air fragrance and flavors of melon and lemon, pineapple, bay leaf, and sage. The texture is silken, not too weighty, although there’s clearly some barrel heft in the midsection. A mineral note at the finish lends gravitas.
Quite admirable at $24. I’m rooting for those truffles.
2019 Left Coast Chardonnay Truffle Hill Willamette Valley
13% ABV | $24 (sample)
