2021 atLarge Chardonnay Forty-Fifth Parallel Oregon 750 ml

Domaine Loubajac’s vineyard is one of the Willamette Valley’s premier sites for growing Chardonnay. Located almost exactly on the 45th parallel—the same latitude that runs through Burgundy—it’s in a blustery section of the valley that’s buffeted by Pacific winds, making it a perfect spot to ripen Chard to succulent perfection while retaining juicy acidity.

This isn’t a secret—winemakers across the region queue up for access to the grapes, and Loubejac’s client list has included some of the best producers of Chardonnay in the region: names like Walter Scott, Morgen Long, and Lingua Franca.

The man at atLarge with the access to that star fruit? None other than Keith Emerson—the president of Vineyard 29 and winemaker behind multiple 100-point wines. And he had the advantage of a year that one veteran winemaker we talked to said “will certainly rank as one of our top five vintages.

The year started off dramatically: 2021 was one of Oregon’s driest in memory, and a “heat dome” punctuated a torrid June. But things turned easy afterwards and the rest of the summer was relatively mild. A few refreshing rains in September and October cemented what turned out to be one of the best vintages in the last decade—producing the kind of Chardonnay that’s made the Willamette Valley into one of the most desirable white-wine producing regions in the world.

Emerson gently pressed his prized Chard as whole-clusters, to promote purity of fruit and crystalline flavors, before fermenting and aging in French oak barrels for texture. Only 20% of them were new—providing structure while keeping oaky flavors discreet—and the wine spent nearly a full year in barrel to achieve its stunning combination of opulence and electricity.