Last year Adelsheim celebrated its 50th year in the Willamette Valley and as the Chehalem Mountains’ first-ever winery. Much gratitude goes to David Adelsheim for his vision and role in being as one of the principals who put this now world-renowned wine region on the map.
They continue to set a standard of excellence in the ever-growing Willamette Valley appellation, producing wines that are both Live Certified Sustainable Winery and certified Salmon Safe. These are far more than slogans, as they represent their firm commitment to protecting the source of their world class fruit and the water they nurture their vines with. Most of their fruit is estate-grown (meaning grown in vineyards they own and manage), but they do source some fruit from qualified, equally committed grower-partners.
Winemaker Gina Hennen continues to lead Team Adelsheim along with industry veteran Rob Allstrin, their CEO & President, together bringing a sense of leadership with their mutual intellect, impassioned focus and attention to details, they have brought an enlightened, progressive style to the winery. This continually moves the wines up the qualitative ladder. This is aided by the diverse soils, mico-climates, and an adaptive winemaking style that adapts, producing the very best from what mother nature gives them to work with. This combination has resulted in countless industry awards while ensuring that year-in-and-out, they produce the best wines possible.
2021 Adelsheim, Willamette Valley, Rose (RT91) 100% Pinot Noir, this shows a classic, pale copper hue, which I find seductively attractive. The style here is completely South of France, showing a lightly fruited, elegantly styled rose. High pitched floral and fruit with notes of strawberry, orange zest, citrus blossom and hints of crushed rocks lead to a reverberating nuanced palate as the delicious fruit soars. This is a lovely, elegant rose that I highly recommend. The enlightened winemaking style at Adelsheim continues to be forged ahead by head winemaker Gina Hennen, and she and her team are totally rocking it! Drink now-2026Both Chardonnay’s benefitted from breathing for a day, so if you’re drinking now and over the coming year or two, I suggest decanting them, or pouring them sometime before drinking them.
2019 Adelsheim, Willamette Valley, Chardonnay (RT91) Sparkling light gold, the reflections draw you into this Maconais old-styled Chardonnay, which emphasizes style over varietal. Crafted from 100% Dijon clones with malolactic fermentation limited to just 20%, thus preserving its fresh, crisp style. The bouquet expresses its terroir eloquently with notes of crisp, golden apple, Meyer lemon, crushed gravel and hints of chalkiness. The palate reveals a fresh acid/fruit balance while maintaining its racy character, this is a lovely food wine, best paired with light summery fare, fresh seafood and hard cheeses. Reminiscent of a different time when global temps were measurably cooler. Drink now-2027
2018 Adelsheim, Chardonnay, Chehalem Mountains, Staking Claim (RT92+) Maintaining its light goldish hue and crafted from 100% Chehalem Mountains fruit, the bouquet is all about its terroir as sappy notes of white peach and underripe white melon interweave with damp soil, wet forest leaves in Fall, wet rock, and an accent of tuffaceous dustiness. There is little oak evident, despite being aged in a combination of barrique and 500 liter puncheons, of which 37% were new, and the wine only saw very limited malolactic fermentation of less than 10%, which its freshness coefficient notably. The palate shows super focused fruit and lively acidity, lending to its zesty, bright finish. This will soften and round out a bit with proper cellaring, but it will maintain its fresh style, which in my view is the antithesis of California, fully malo’ed, buttery Chardonnay. Drink now-2028+
2021 Adelsheim, Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir (RT93) Medium ruby with a light cast of garnet, the aromatics are compressed and tight on opening, but with time in the glass reveal seductive notes of cranberry, pomegranate, ripe red raspberry and hints of spice, sous bois and mushroom. The palate is precisely balanced with generous fruit concentration, lifting acidity and sweet, ripe tannins. Over 90% of the fruit is Estate grown, and was aged for 9 months in French oak, of which just 18% was new, meaning this is not an oak focused style of overly sweet Pinot Noir, but rather a Burgundian styled expression. Less is more! This will benefit from a year or two in the bottle and should deliver terrific satisfaction in the coming years. Drink 2025-2035+
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