It's almost become a mantra at Flatiron that even though Pinot Noir is king in Oregon, it is the potential for Chardonnay from the beaver state that really excites us. Walter Scott’s X Novo and Camerons Abbey Ridge immediately come to mind. So when we heard about 00 Wine (Double Zero Wines) a couple years back we were more than intrigued. This Chardonnay first project has been somewhat of a little secret for those in the know. Ravenously collected by those who usually prefer wines from the Cote de Beaune, until now we never moved quickly enough to get any onto our shelves.

00 is the brainchild of Chris Herman, an Oregon native who grew up in the vineyards of the Willamette Valley. As an adult he became hooked on the white Burgundy, a habit that has become dramatically more expensive over the last decade. For lovers of Coche-Dury, Roulot and other producers in their class the ever decreasing availability along with the skyrocketing prices have made what was once an affordable luxury for some almost unobtainable except for the very few.

So Chris decided to do something about it. He was and is convinced, like us and none other than Dominique Lafon, that Oregon has the ability to produce Chardonnay that is as exemplary as their Burgundian counterparts. Chris and his wife Kathryn decided to test that theory and founded 00 wines.

The Willamette Valley terroir is perfect for Chardonnay. Warm days lead to cool nights brought by winds from the Pacific through the Van Duzer corridor. The soils are an incredible mix of mostly volcanic with sedimentary and loes and help produce wines with an intense mineral core. Chris’ connections and intimate knowledge of Willamette Valley vineyards guarantee that they have access to the best fruit but in order to produce wines as good as those from Burgundy he needed some serious Burgundian talent on his team.

He went straight to the source and recruited Pierre Millemann, wine consultant to the stars such as, you guessed it, Coche-Dury and Roulot. He's famous for perfecting the "browning out" method of Chardonnay production, employed by the aforementioned and now, many other top Burgundy estates.

The process begins with pressing for a high extraction of phenolics, then massive oxygen exposure in barrel. The juice turns brown, even black, as heavy compounds are easily oxidized, before settling to the bottom taking the dark color with it. After fermentation, the wine is racked away. What remains is the texture, flavor, concentration, and intensity with finesse and a gorgeous golden color.

The wines of 00 are just more proof that this method is responsible for making amongst the best Chardonnay ever produced. We are absolutely thrilled to have them in the store and while this has been all about Chardonnay, their Pinot Noir is nothing to shake a stick at. Showing the same brilliance as the Chardonnay this is amongst the most thrilling Pinots we’ve tasted in a long time.