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At least one winemaker has called the Koosah Vineyard in Willamette Valley subregion Eola-Amity Hills the greatest Chardonnay vineyard in the AVA, and with no disrespect to a handful of sites in Napa, Sonoma, and Santa Barbara, it could be the best Chardonnay vineyard in the United States. Now owned by Résonance Wines, the Oregon outpost of Maison Louis Jadot, the vineyard still sells grapes to several other well-known producers, and a quick scan of recent scores for the vineyard’s Chard from the first few vintages shows multiple ratings between 93 and 97 points. While Louis Jadot makes wine from more than 100 different Burgundy appellations, Résonance is a much more focused affair, offering single-vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, estate cuvées, and Willamette Valley bottlings for a total of 13 different wines each vintage.

Although Résonance already had a stellar reputation among wine cognoscenti for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir bottlings from its vineyards in the Willamette Valley sub-AVAs Yamhill-Carlton and Dundee Hills, insiders were so enthusiastic about the release of the 2022 Koosah Vineyard Chardonnay that the entire vintage—3,522 bottles and 30 magnums—sold out to club members immediately. “It was important for us to offer them an exclusive access to our first vintage, as a sign of gratitude for their support, confidence, and loyalty,” says winemaker Guillaume Large, a Burgundy native who works alongside director of operations Thibault Gagey (whose father, Pierre, was president of Louis Jadot from 1992 to 2022).

The house changed things up with the release of the 2023 vintage, which was offered to retailers and restaurants—in addition to club members—during the annual Louis Jadot barrel tour; the 1,200 available bottles (out of 5,316 made) were snapped up in no time flat. Résonance also sells Koosah fruit to noted producers such as Walter Scott, Martin Woods, 00, and Morgen Long, with the stipulation that they charge a minimum of $80 per bottle of the wine they make from it, but most charge between $100 and $150. Walter Scott owner and winemaker Ken Pahlow originally bought Koosah grapes from Oregon wine legends Kevin and Carla Chambers, who planted both Résonance and Koosah vineyards before selling them to Louis Jadot, which kept the name Résonance for its Willamette Valley venture. “The Eola-Amity Hills represent to epicenter of the best Chardonnays in the Willamette Valley, and when I discovered that Kevin Chambers was planting a vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills I jumped at the chance to work with both him and this epic vineyard,” Pahlow says. While he was sad to see Chambers retire and sell the vineyard, Pahlow says the Résonance has carried on Chambers’ vision for the site.

“There is no other Chardonnay vineyard that compares to it in the Willamette Valley,” Pahlow says of Koosah. “Soils, aspect, slope, and wind—all of these come together at significant elevation coupled with perfectly executed farming.” First planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 2016, the vineyard developed a reputation with the 2021 vintage from a variety of producers, and the Chambers’ decision to sell was perfectly timed with the Résonance team’s desire to branch out into Eola-Amity Hills. Large says it was well farmed from day one, including being planted with massal selection vines and using biodynamic and organic practices. With a top altitude of 1,100 feet, this position at the highest point in the AVA offers warmer nighttime temperatures than the valley floor thanks to the warm air rising and cool air sinking, while daytime temperatures are lower than in areas closer to sea level.

Like Pahlow, Large is also a fan of the wind, which he believes is a defining feature of the vineyard. He says late-afternoon ocean breezes that blow through the Van Duzer Corridor reduce disease incidence, which eliminates the need for treatments or pesticide, and thickens grape skins, which adds concentration, flavor, and tannins. While there is a variety of soil types throughout the vineyard, the high quantities of rock including fractured basalt help with both drainage and water retention at depth, and large deposits of iron and manganese add to the wine’s minerality. Planted with a total of 26 acres of Chardonnay and 18 of Pinot Noir, the vineyard is divided into 18 blocks based on year planted, clonal selection, and exposure. Of the 26 acres of Chardonnay, nine are own rooted as opposed to grafted, which Large points out is unusual in the region. Each parcel is vinified separately, with the wine aged for 16 months in a combination of oak barrels and concrete eggs.

Chris Hermann, founder of 00 wines, was also an original customer of Chambers when he first started selling Koosah fruit. “I’m working to assemble the ‘grand cru’ Chardonnay sites of the Willamette Valley in our Chardonnay portfolio,” he says. “Working with the Koosah Chardonnay fruit was the next crown jewel of our Chardonnay collection.” Jumping at the chance to purchase grapes from Chambers, he says, “I knew that if he believed in that place, then it was worth waiting for,” and he is very pleased to continue working with Résonance. Evan White, wine director at Bludorn in Houston, was one of the quick-acting sommeliers who got hold of the first-available Chardonnay vintage from Résonance. “The 2023 Koosah Vineyard Chardonnay by Résonance is proof positive that the Willamette Valley is absolutely the most exciting region for Chardonnay right now,” he says. “So much energy; zippy and fresh without being too lean, complementing the nose with flavors of Fuji apple, ginger, grapefruit zest and toasted vanilla.” Large believes there are more differences than similarities between making wine in the vineyards of Burgundy and Oregon, but when it comes to this special site, the resemblance shines through in the glass.

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