I’m of the opinion that perhaps the 100-point score is too freely given.
Frankly, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be on the delivering end of the triple-digit number in my role at Decanter.
To me, the notion of perfection is difficult to fully capture, both in the process of doing something, such as making wine, and equally in evaluating it.
‘My hope is that this allows us to talk about Willamette Valley Chardonnay the same way our Pinot Noir has been considered historically, that we can be viewed as a region that does more than one thing well’ – Ben Casteel
An A+ wine starts at 95 points, and there’s ample room to assess greatness between there and perfection. It can be akin to splitting hairs, sure, but that’s part of any wine critic’s role.
A perfect score, to me, means nothing is out of place, nothing is missing. I tend towards the old saying, ‘nobody’s perfect’.
Chardonnay on the rise
I cover Oregon (and Washington) for Decanter in addition to my responsibilities as North America editor, and over the past three years I’d given three 99-point scores – all to Oregon Pinot Noirs.
They were: an outstanding bottle from Abbott Claim, first place in Decanter’s Top 50 US Wines last year; most recently a Martin Woods Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir; as well as a 2018 Pinot from White Rose Estate. All incredible wines – among the best I’ve ever tasted.
But Oregon’s Chardonnay has been gaining ground, both in terms of plantings (with acreage doubling since 2014) and critical acclaim.
In my past two vintage reports for Decanter I’ve rated Willamette Valley Chardonnay as high, or higher than the Pinot Noirs.
So my first 100-point wine, from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, is not a shock. It may surprise some that it was Chardonnay, but only if you haven’t been paying attention.
A family legacy
Bethel Heights has a long and storied history in the Willamette Valley, dating to 1978. The Casteel family, two brothers and their wives, founded the estate and have long been one of the flagship producers in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA.
Ben Casteel, a second-generation winemaker, took the reins from his late father Terry. He is very much a ‘winemaker’s winemaker’.
In a recent conversation with another accomplished producer in the region, they told me: ‘Sometimes people ask me who makes my favourite wines in the Valley, and Ben is at the top of my list.’ Confident and direct, and undoubtedly skilled. He is one of the top talents in the region, and he has been for some time.
The story of this bottle is wrapped up in the name, the old vines, the work that Ben’s parents, and his aunt and uncle did to establish both the Valley and the Eola-Amity Hills – that’s all a part of the beauty of this wine.
It’s a wine that speaks to that family’s legacy and importance. The challenges of the Wente clone early on and the sweet spot that it is clearly sitting in now – all of that background context.
It comes together to make what is, to me, a perfect bottle of Chardonnay. My first 100-point wine.
A brilliant bottle
The High Wire Chardonnay was my last wine to taste on this particular Friday afternoon. As I tasted it, it seemed like the complexity never stopped.
There are some truly exceptional Chardonnays being produced in Oregon right now, and many exhibit noticeable reduction, which I happen to love.
This wine, though, right out of the gate, had a clarity that some of those others don’t have in their youth. The complexity and nuance were allowed to shine.
Maybe it’s the Wente clone, but it’s clear Ben did a brilliant job layering fruit, minerality and savoury depth, and the texture stole the show. I haven’t tasted a better wine.
‘It feels like a fitting and bittersweet bookend for our Wente Chardonnay clone, planted in 1977 and soon to be replanted this fall,’ says Ben.
‘When my family purchased the property in 1978, these vines were just a year old – fragile sticks in the ground. Ripening them was a challenge every vintage, spanning my late father’s entire career and the first eight years of mine.
‘Over the years, they had every chance to replant with an earlier-ripening variety, but they chose patience. That patience is what brought us to this moment, 47 years later.’
Decanter’s first 100-point Oregon Chardonnay
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