“This wine’s strong mint scent catches your attention immediately, and that quality carries into the palate. Quince, pineapple and lemon flavors keep it interesting and on the light side of ripe. There’s a touch of spice on the finish.”
91 & Editor’s Choice – Point Pail Gregutt, Wine Enthusiast
90 points – James Suckling, jamesuckling.com
The world-renowned green grape Chardonnay has an almost infinite number of expressions. The Burgundian expression is seen by many wine lovers as the “correct” and best. The Willamette Valley in Oregon is one of the few areas in the world that gradually gives Burgundy direct competition when it comes to the quality of Chardonnay. Elk Cove, the producer behind Pike Road Wines, has succeeded in hitting the eye of the needle here. Great balance and quality at a very reasonable price!
Pike Road Chardonnay is just another example of how well the Burgundian grapes thrive in the US state of Oregon. All the grapes for this wine come from the Willamette Valley AVA. Part of the wine is fermented and aged in French oak (about 35% of which is new) for 9 months, while the rest sees only steel. It gives a restrained and harmonious taste on the palate, which does not dominate or overshadow the fresh, bright fruit.
Colour: Light golden.
Scent: Generous scent of pineapple, lemon and mint.
Tasting notes: A slightly spicy note of vanilla butter accompanies quince, pineapple and citrus fruit. Nice body, but not heavy.
Serving suggestions: Enjoy it chilled with fish or seafood dishes.
Pike Road Wines sent their first bottles to the market in 2016. Behind the enterprise we find the Campbell family, who planted their first fields in 1974 and at the same time started the now well-known winery, Elk Cove.
The idea behind Pike Road Wines is to sell high quality wine made from grapes grown exclusively in the Willamette Valley, but at prices that are more accessible than what you normally see in the area. The new initiative was named after the road that snakes through the lush valley and continues deep into the Oregon Coast Range – the mountains that are so important to the Willamette Valley’s favorable growing conditions.
At Pike Road, you have no reservations about buying grapes from other winegrowers, as long as the quality is top notch. On the contrary, they want to do their part to ensure that the small farmers and family businesses around the Willamette Valley can survive, and in many cases the Campbell family has had decades of working with these farmers! Therefore, several of the wines are made from both Pike Road’s own grapes and lots from selected farmers in the area. They also emphasize that this “multi-vineyard” method can in some cases produce a more complex wine.
