It Takes Chemistry to Make Good Wine

Literally, it does take the stuff from that class that you had to take in high school. It also takes chemistry for two winemaking teams - and two palates per team - with different styles to come together and make wines that they all stand behind. Sourced from various Willamette Valley sites, these wines are the brain children of the winemakers of Chehalem Winery and Stoller Family Estate (under the same owner since early 2018). The Chemistry wines are a clever line-up that stylistically sit equidistant the palates of the two wineries. The real proof of this is in the Pinot Noir, Oregon's signature black grape.

I was wowed by the wines. Then, I did a double take when I looked at their prices. They seriously over-deliver for their price points!  

90
chemistry 2018 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 14.1% $19
Exuding with black cherries, this succulently ripe and steadfastly pure Pinot Noir even has a hint of cassis. Full-bodied, smooth and refreshing, the palate is seamlessly balanced. The moderate finish shows strains of slate and damp earth. There are no evident new oak strains, even if 15% new French oak was employed in the wine's aging. It does show a bit of alcoholic heat as the bottle warms up out of the wine fridge, but it isn't bothersome. Utterly crushable, this young wine is a must-buy!
Drink: 2020-25 

89
chemistry NV Pinot Noir Rosé Bubbles Willamette Valley 12.5% $20
This wine is a catchy peachy pink as it pours into the glass. I preferred it in a wide-mouthed Riedel flute because the bubbles were elegant and persistent. While the wide opening of the flute allowed for good aromatic development, this wine glass pumped up the bouquet even more. The aromas start with rose petals and rhubarb, and the palate builds on these notes with strawberries and red plum skin. The perky finish unveils a light tannic touch that is complimentary to the roaring acidity. (Sometimes one amplifies the other and the taste turns acrid. Not so here.) The fruit-filled mid-palate certainly helps in delivering harmonious balance. And speaking of fruit and balance, this is not a sparkling wine that relies on residual sugar to fill out the mid-palate. There's actual fruit there! This is a true brut and it's finely balanced. This is a people pleaser well-suited to sipping solo or pairing with a wide array of foods. The bubbles do fade fairly quickly, so enjoy stat once you've opened it. The 3,800 cases produced really over-deliver.
Drink: 2020-21 

89
chemistry 2019 Pinot Gris Willamette Valley 14.1% $14
This is Pinot Gris with pizzaz! Generous with its pure fruit aromatics of white peach and passion fruit, the moderately weighty palate edged by a pleasantly clingy twirl of glycerol is focused by sassy acidity. I love the cracked white pepper savoriness that slides into the crisp, moderate finish. Nicely concentrated, this can easily hold on for several years, but resisting it will be hard.
Drink: 2020-22