Le Cadeau Chardonnay

Pale straw color. Stone fruit with a touch of citrus for good acidity, mineral backdrop. Restrained yet precise. Wasn’t distinctive enough to stand up to food, though.

Oregon Chardonnay is a relatively new frontier for me but I'm loving many of them. This is a fine example and a fun comparison with France or CA. I generally prefer this to many CA Chards and it represent a better value in many cases too. Weightlessly balanced & elegant w/a sense of complexity. Alc 12.9% Paid $36 on a multi blt discount at the time.

Our first of two '19 Estate Chardonnay from Le Cadeau to celebrate Christmas Eve 2023 w/ our "kids". Served with Mini Crab cakes. Wonderful! Uber balanced & elegant. Lifted richness. Nothing ponderous here. Harnessed intensity with a good sense of minerality laced w/ citrus & stone fruit. Impressive fragrance in the glass. I find Oregon fruit to offer a more classic expression of Chardonnay than Ca. Lacks the heft of many top Ca Chards and comes in at better value. …

Tasted at the “in town” tasting room in Dundee, OR which is a useful experience as this winery is rather complex to fully understand with its multiple winemakers and unique but varied “terroir” and history. I can’t do a lot of justice to that here but I would recommend it for a good understanding for what their wines are all about. This wine was aged in used oak barrels for 18 months with periodic “battonage” then aged an additional 5 …