Like their Pinot Blanc, bringing together fruit from their family’s Chehalem Mountains Aurora Vineyard with a bit from Thistle west of Dundee, the Ponzis’ 2011 Chardonnay Reserve (there was no corresponding 2010) displays ripe white peach, pear, pineapple and lime wreathed in honeysuckle, its palate at once creamy and brightly refreshing; but, what’s more, possessed of saline, crustacean, and chicken stock savor that honestly put me in mind of Chablis, and that make for a mouthwatering finish, effortlessly integrating the hints of vanilla and caramelized resin from barrel, as well as yet more alluring almond and peach kernel. This superb value is likely to be worth following through at least 2017 and I would not be at all surprised to witness it both gaining allure along the way and then surpassing that projection. I got to see the tasting room and visitors’ center side of the new Ponzi winery on my latest visit, and all I can say is that neither intelligence nor expense were spared in constructing that facility. In the evolution of Luisa Ponzi’s white winemaking (for more about which – along with many other details on this estate – consult my Issue 202 introduction) includes a wholesale movement toward steam-treated rather than toasted wood, as well as the introduction of 500 liter barrels. The idea, clearly, is to avoid too much overly woody flavor and where there is an obvious contribution from barrel – as with the Acacia now also being sparingly used here – then not one that would be associated with tannins or resins that could harden mouth-feel or arrest the flow of primary juiciness. Ponzi’s is nowadays among those Willamette white wine collections – modest in number but impressive in stature – that are leading the way into a world-class flourishing; and they are only going to get better as vines age; vine genetics are more discerningly selected; and methods are honed. With her 2011 Pinots, Ponzi confessed to having for the first time in her career experimented a bit with enzymatic as well as tannin additions, “because in a year like this when you’re faced with fruit that is compromised in a lot of cases and just barely reached ripeness, you kind of have to reach out for tools that might help.” The results testify to her success. Tel. (503) 628-1227