Atomique³ Willamette Valley Chardonnay Le Basalt 2021 Esthers and savory herbs with wet-stone

and savory herbs with wet-stone minerality on the nose

What lands in the glass is lemon and key lime pulled tight over chalk

and the wine came in unusually elegant — dark-fruited and peppery

A blend of 45% Meunier 35% Pinot Noir 20% Chardonnay from 75% 2018 and 25% 2017 vintages

Atomique³ Willamette Valley Chardonnay Le Basalt 2021 Esthers and savory herbs with wet-stoneAtomique3 is a small Willamette Valley project built around a simple, geeky premise: what if you took the same Chardonnay grapes and bottled the soils side by side? Le Basalt comes from blocks planted on volcanic basaltthe dark, iron rich bedrock of the Eola Amity Hills and the high benches of the valley. The result is the more structured, mineral, and savory of the pair, with a flinty edge and a tight, linear shape. Lovers of taut, Chablisien