2019 Ponzi Vineyards Chardonnay Laurelwood District Willamette Valley

When we visited Oregon’s Willamette Valley in January, one topic was on the mind of every winemaker and sommelier we met: CHARDONNAY.

Luisa Ponzi’s 2019 Laurelwood District Chardonnay shows exactly why many wine lovers, critics, somms, and winemakers are even more pumped about Willamette Valley Chardonnay than they are about the region’s celebrated Pinot Noirs. 

Wine Advocate gave it an extraordinary 95-point score, making it a one-bottle argument for what James Suckling wrote last year: “At the price point of $25 to $40, Oregon generally makes better Pinot and Chardonnay than Burgundy.” 

You could make the case that Chardonnay master Dominique Lafon (of Domaine des Comtes Lafon) played a major part in the quality explosion in Oregon Chardonnay. His expertise has reverberated throughout the Willamette Valley, from Evening Land to Walter Scott to Lingua Franca. But the Willamette Valley gave Lafon a gift as well, back in 1992, sending him a talented intern named Luisa Ponzi.

Ponzi’s Burgundian training has guided her family winery for decades now, and it dovetails perfectly with their old-vine fruit. The core of this wine comes from the Ponzis’ 1970 plantings in their original estate vineyard plus their 1991 plantings in the Aurora Vineyard, combined with a handful of other sites in the new Laurelwood AVA.

Ponzi Vineyards is so renowned and accomplished that in 2021 Bollinger chose them as their first winery to acquire outside France. That speaks volumes. We invite you to see the same excellence they saw in this wine—It was a revelation to us, and we know you’ll love it too.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity
• Aromatic Intensity

• ABV 13.10%
• Enjoy right away
• Now – 2028
• % Chardonnay
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Cork