Explore Oregon Wines: Wineries | Varietals | AVAs | Cellar 503 Selections
Walter Scott Wines 2015 La Combe Verte Chardonnay
A hidden gem in the Eola-Amity Hills.
It's a gorgeous fall day as we drive through the hills outside of Salem. Look closely, or you'll miss the small driveway leading to Walter Scott Wines and miss out on a hidden gem.
As I arrived, I was immediately struck by the location, perched atop rolling hills of vines barely turning yellow in the afternoon sun. Ken Pahlow and Erica Landon, the husband and wife team behind Walter Scott Wines had found the perfect place to make wine.
Between them they have over 20 years of experience in the wine industry. Ken helped make wine for some of the Willamette Valley's best known producers - St. Innocent, Patricia Green and Evening Land Vineyards. Erica comes from wine education, teaching certification classes for the Wine and Spirit Education Trust; and from the restaurant world, curating wine lists for Blue Hour, Ten 01, and other fine establishments in Portland.
In 2012, their dream of owning their own winery became a reality. They found a perfect little winery in the Eola-Amity Hills leased from Bethel Heights Vineyards. And they secured grapes from some of the most sought-after vineyards.
Today, Walter Scott Wines is best known for producing elegant, single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Eola-Amity Hills that represent each site's unique character.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Walter Scott Wines, Salem, Oregon
2015 La Combe Verte Chardonnay
Alongside their single-vineyard wines, at Walter Scott, they also feature wines that bring together grapes from multiple vineyards - each of them individually sought-after in their own right.
The 2015 La Combe Verte Chardonnay blends grapes from three vineyards in the Eola Amity Hills, one in the Chehalem Mountains, and one in the foothills of the coast range northwest of Monmouth. The combination of older vineyards and younger vineyards brings in the richness and texture of the older grapes with the aromatic notes and flavors of white peach, green apple, and tangerine.
Just 440 cases produced, and we got the last of it!
A Cellar 503 selection in December 2016, Happy Holidays Willamette Valley | Chardonnay
