ABOUT: Tyson Crowley put in work in Oregon to pin Crowley wine to the map. High functioning cellar rat for Erath, sawing his teeth at Brick House, J.K. Carriere, Archery Summit, and Cameron before getting Crowley wine into a barrel in 2005. They are proud members of the Deep Roots Coalition and their primary vineyard sources are LIVE certified or certified organic. They source grapes from some excellent vineyards, Four Winds, Oracle, La Colina, and Tuckwilla. Crowley is a fairly new label on the scene but the quality of the wine is superior and in short order will be shoulder to shoulder with all the other great Oregon names. TASTE:Four Winds Vineyard is one of the highest in elevation on the McMinnville Coast and has a patch planted to the prized Wente Chardonnay clone. Crowley’s Four Winds Chardonnay is 100% Wente and spends a little time in new oak but not enough to write “cedar” in your tasting note. I hesitate to say it’s Burgundian in style since there are many different takes on Chardonnay in Burgundy. I’d rather say it’s not Californian in style; it’s sort of delicate and minimal with lemon and apple with notes of green tea and salt. The body is medium in weight and the acid is a tick upward which is where we like our Chardonnay. Can’t wait to see what the future has in store for Crowley.
PAIR:Bibimbap, grilled cheese with avocado and tomato, ginger veggie stir-fry, coconut braised chickpeas, and poached eggs on toast.
