Long before I was the Domestic Wine Buyer at K&L I knew and loved the wines of Arterberry Maresh. As with the entire Willamette Valley region the vast majority of the hype and acclaim goes to the incredible Pinot Noirs produced here...and they deserve it. However, my favorite wine from Arterberry was often their Maresh Vineyard Chardonnay. It always had that something extra, the je ne sais quoi, vibrant minerality, tension, precision. So a few years back when Jim Maresh released a new series of wines entirely focused on experimenting with small lots of Chardonnay from around the valley I was beyond excited to taste them! Almost immediately those 2019 Tan Fruit releases got huge scores and most sold out entirely on pre-arrival! White Burgundy folks were clamoring for them as hype about these new Tan Fruit wines reverberated around the wine industry. Then the wildfires of 2020 meant no releases for that vintage...and so we waited, and we waited for the arrival of the 2021 Tan Fruit wines. Knowing the quality and demand for these wines we got in early and secured allocations before the inevitable huge scores hit...and hit they did! If you missed the inaugural release of these sensational, category defining wines fear not as we stocked up as much as we could of the breathtaking 2021 releases. These are some of the most refined, focused, energized, mineral driven Chardonnays you will find on the planet. Laser like in presentation these wines need time to warm up and aerate in the glass, tightly wound and flinty, they're liquid rock with flowers on top. The Cuvee Tan Fruit is mostly from Maresh's estate vineyard, a block planted in 1991, plus some other parcels of growers fruit. The wine is just so fragrant, bright, full of mineral and verve. Orchard blossom, juicy white peach, quince, apricot pit, chalk, preserved lemon, seashell salinity. Very much like Grand Cru Chablis (without any notable oak influence) but at the same time very much it's own thing - resolutely bright, energized, chiseled, Chardonnay that is making a poignant statement that Oregon Chard is a real contender on the world stage and is afraid of no one. This is next level wine that I urge everyone to try ASAP.

Woodsy on the nose, with hints of stone fruit and all the bright acid through the palate that you'd expect from Arterberry Maresh, the 2021 Tan Fruit shines with cool climate appeal. There's enough oak and richness to win over California Chardonnay drinkers, too. This is one of my favorite Willamette Valley producers, and I love having more releases on our shelves.

This is a Chardonnay in a category unto its own. It somehow offers the bright lifted aromatics of the cool Willamette climate-the incredible acidity, the tension and minerality-while providing surprisingly satisfying weight and concentration, and just a touch of toast to spice up the euphony of flavors. This is the kind of bottle of wine that ends up empty far too soon, especially once the company finds it.