Walter Scott Koosah Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 750ml

Product Info

97pts Vinous Media
The 2023 Chardonnay Koosah Vineyard wafts up with a beguiling bouquet, as dusty dried flowers and cracked slate give way to lemon oil, nectarine and a lovely air of confectionery spice. Silken in feel, it soothes the palate with tantalizing acidity and ripe citrus-laced fruit, coming across as juicy yet deep and complex. The senses are left saturated in salty concentration as this finishes tightly wound in its youthful state. Full of potential. Drinking Window 2026 - 2034

Terroir
Koosah Vineyard sits high in the Eola–Amity Hills, one of the Willamette Valley’s most wind-exposed, tension-driven sub-regions, and the 2023 vintage shows every watt of that energy. Perched on steep volcanic slopes ranging from 700–900 feet, Koosah benefits from a dramatic diurnal shift: warm, bright days that ensure full phenolic ripeness followed by evenings cooled by the Van Duzer Corridor winds that sweep through the western gap and deliver a rush of cold marine air. This constant wind pressure thickens skins, postpones ripening, and contributes to the vineyard’s signature thread of salinity and nerve. The soils are predominantly Nekia and Jory—red, iron-rich volcanic clays over fractured basalt—offering excellent drainage and a mineral backbone that reveals itself as flinty tension in the finished wine. With vines planted densely and farmed meticulously, Koosah consistently yields small berries with high acidity, moderate alcohol, and remarkable precision, making it one of the most celebrated Chardonnay sites in Oregon. The 2023 vintage, slightly cooler than average but blessed with extended hangtime, provided immaculate fruit definition and natural acid retention.

Winemaking & Technical Notes
Walter Scott is known for a Burgundian, low-intervention touch, and Koosah receives some of the estate’s most attentive handling. Fruit is harvested by hand at dawn, sorted twice for purity, and pressed in whole clusters to maintain delicacy and structure. The juice is settled briefly before being moved by gravity into a mix of large-format French oak barrels—primarily 500–600L puncheons—with only a small percentage of new wood, just enough to frame the fruit without intruding on its inherent energy. Fermentation proceeds spontaneously with indigenous yeasts and typically completes without temperature manipulation, allowing the wine to find its own rhythm. The long, cool ferment builds texture and quiet aromatics, followed by 10–12 months of maturation on fine lees without batonnage to preserve linearity and electricity. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally and fully, contributing creaminess without sacrificing the wine’s hallmark vibrancy. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered to maintain maximum nuance, resulting in a Chardonnay that expresses both vineyard character and Walter Scott’s elegant, precision-driven aesthetic.

Tasting Notes
The 2023 Koosah Chardonnay opens with a lifted, luminous aromatic profile—white peach, Meyer lemon zest, crushed oyster shell, and fresh quince—interwoven with subtle notes of almond skin, chamomile, and warm stone. A faint whisper of reduction (a trademark Walter Scott signature) adds sophistication, evoking flint strike and smoked citrus oils without veering into heaviness.

On the palate, the wine is both tensile and generous: a sleek, linear core of lemon curd, green apple, and pear skin wrapped around a mineral spine that pulses with energy. Mid-palate texture is superb—silky but never soft—layered with nuances of hazelnut, panna cotta, and lightly toasted brioche, all kept in check by the vineyard’s naturally bracing acidity. The finish is remarkably long and detailed, fanning out with notes of wet stone, sea spray, lime pith, and a faint herbal echo reminiscent of verbena and fennel pollen. It is a wine of impressive harmony, at once powerful and understated, with the potential to evolve beautifully over the next decade.

Food Pairing & Service
This Chardonnay’s balance of richness and structure makes it
immensely versatile at the table. Ideal pairings include butter-poached halibut, Dungeness crab with lemon aioli, or seared scallops over cauliflower purée, where the wine’s acidity lifts sweetness and its minerality underscores the dish’s delicacy. For something heartier, consider roast chicken with thyme and jus, chanterelle risotto, or grilled trout with brown butter and capers, all of which echo the wine’s textural interplay and subtle earth tones. Serve at 50–54°F (10–12°C) in a Burgundy bowl to fully express its aromatic depth and layered mineral profile. While already stunning in its youthful vibrancy, the wine will reward patience: 2025–2033 is an ideal drinking window, with peak complexity emerging after 2027.