Producer Spotlight: 00 Wines

00 Wines has acquired a cult following by bringing a true Burgundian sensibility to its winemaking endeavors in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Chris Hermann, the architect behind this project, always had a taste for Old World wines. Originally producing only a few barrels of Pinot Noir at a time, 00 Wines made its foray into Chardonnay when Hermann recruited Pierre Millemann from Millemann Consulting in Nuits-St.-Georges to oversee production. Hermann recognized that while there were many producers making good to great Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley, no one was working to elevate Chardonnay to the status he knew it could achieve.

Utilizing Millemann’s experience working with people like Coche Dury, Roulot and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Hermann was able to implement the “Black Chardonnay” method of vinification. This is essentially the process of extracting maximum phenolics from grape skins -- a routine practice for reds, but typically not implemented for Chardonnay. This process gives 00 Wines Chardonnays more complexity, texture, and flavor, ultimately elevating them to critic favorites in only a few short years.

Critic Scores

2017 Eola Springs Chardonnay
97pts James Suckling
95pts Wine Advocate
95pts Wine Enthusiast

“The 2017 Chardonnay Eola Springs comes from vines planted in 1984. It has a singular, incredibly layered nose of orange oil, jasmine, dried chamomile and hay, honeyed apples, pie crust, candied hazelnuts, grilled peaches, sweet spices, autumn leaves and mushroom tart. In the mouth, it's medium-bodied and über silky, spindle-like in its ability to run the gamut from precise stony character to open, fleshy, honeyed fruits and back again, with laser-like focus and a very long, layered finish. This is gorgeous!” – 95, WA

2017 EGW Chardonnay
97pts James Suckling
95pts Wine Enthusiast Editor’s Choice
94pts Wine Advocate

“The 2017 Chardonnay EGW is scented of chamomile, fresh quince, grilled peaches, Greek yogurt, cashews, and lemon curd with a flinty hint. The medium-bodied, silky palate features a lovely mix of ripe, honeyed fruits and mineral notions, enlivened by juicy acidity and finishing long and energetic. This has the mineral, nutty character of a great white Burgundy, with Oregonian flesh and power.” – 94, Wine Advocate

“Double Zero is reaching for the stars with its impressive lineup of eight Chardonnays. The initials here stand for “extra good white,” and this juicy, fresh, leesy and creamy wine lives up to the moniker. It's loaded with rich fruit flavors of apple, pear and white peach, amplified with barrel time highlights of caramel and toffee. The robust and well-integrated flavors roll into a lengthy, firmly etched finish, with an intriguing hint of pine needle.” – 95, Editors Choice, PAUL GREGUTT, Wine Enthusiast

“A very complex and powerful chardonnay with ripe-nectarine, lemon and grapefruit aromas, laced with cool, stony notes, as well as flint and attractively restrained oak. The palate has mouthwatering, intense fruit with such attractively concentrated, pithy-grapefruit and white-peach flavors with beautifully wound flesh that pervades the crisp, long and gently toasty finish. Really superb chardonnay. Drink or hold.” – 97, James Suckling

"I would easily have mistaken this for at minimum premier cru Burgundy in a blind tasting. The nose was clean and bright, with lots of lemon zest. Explosive mid-palate with a crazy long finish. For something so clean and bright on the nose, it had tremendous complexity, richness and weight in the mouth. It is showing well now, but for my taste this needs another 5 years of cellar time to really show its true potential, which I think is vast." – 95, GRW Wine Collection

2017 VGW Chardonnay 
97pts James Suckling
94pts Wine Enthusiast Editor’s Choice
92pts Wine Advocate

“Double Zero is reaching for the stars with its impressive lineup of eight Chardonnays. The initials on this bottle stand for “very good white.” Indeed it is—it's thick and rich, with flavors of coconut, toasted hazelnut, butterscotch and mocha. There's fruit in abundance, a tangy mix of apple, peach, tangerine and Meyer lemon, all dusted with baking spices.” – 94, Editors Choice, PAUL GREGUTT, Wine Enthusiast

“This offers ripe-pineapple and lime-juice aromas, as well as white peaches and wet stones, in a very expressive mode. The palate has a very smooth core of mellow, cashew nuts and white peaches with some very assertive and dense, fleshy-peach and praline notes to close. Drink or hold.” – 97, James Suckling

"Layers of texture, luxurious mouthfeel, loads of fruit, splash of lemon juice activates the palate, followed by tropical flavors, including pineapple and white pear. Great balance, with a slight oxidation reminiscent of wine from Burgundy legends. The quality is that of great 1er Cru, will remaining very distinctively Oregon in origin, but some of the best I have tasted. The finish was clean and lingered on the front of the palate asking for more.” – GRW Wine Collection

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