Chardonnay "Maple Grove", Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Willamette Valley, OR, 2019

Serendipitous relationships enabled access to Pinot noir grapes from the very best vineyard sites from the beginning. And with the Southern Hemisphere vintage safely maturing in the cellar, Hamilton Russell Vineyards winemaker Emul Ross was able to travel to Oregon to make the maiden vintage in 2018. Working initially with two famous Pinot noir vineyards in the two nested AVA’s of most interest to them for the style they were aiming for, they settled in 2019 on a single Pinot noir source from the Zena Crown vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills, adding an exciting new Chardonnay vineyard, Maple Grove, as well. As for their Hemel-en-Aarde Valley estate, the intention is to make a single exceptional Pinot noir and a single exceptional Chardonnay - no “reserves” and no second labels.