2020 DeLille Cellars Chardonnay Roofline Oregon

When the call came in the spring of 2020, Chris Upchurch couldn’t say yes fast enough.

He’d done a lot of things in his career at the helm of DeLille Cellars, but he’d never had the chance to make Oregon Chardonnay special enough to carry the DeLille name.

DeLille’s been called “the Lafite Rothschild of Washington State” by Robert Parker, and the winery has made Wine & Spirits’ Top 100 Wineries list five out of the last six years, which means nothing but the best will do. Of course, the Chardonnay that grabbed Upchurch’s attention wasn’t just any Chardonnay—it came from one of Willamette Valley’s most treasured hillsides. He couldn’t use the vineyard’s name on the label because he was skipping a long waiting-list for the site’s grapes, but that didn’t matter: It was all about access to that stellar fruit. 

Now, two years after the grapes were harvested, he’s releasing DeLille’s first-ever Oregon Chardonnay, under their Roofline label—a home for special projects usually only available at the winery’s tasting room. We tasted it when we visited over the summer, and we were blown away by its Old World–inspired minerality and delicate orchard fruit—and we wouldn’t leave until he agreed to give our members access as well.

When Parker compared DeLille to Lafite, it’s because their wines reflect the complexity and grace of the Bordeaux icon. That comparison shouldn’t be limited to DeLille’s powerful reds: The attention to detail and thoughtfulness that brought Chris Upchurch acclaim—and left him with wine-stained hands at his own nuptials—shows through in this mineral-tinged white wine.

A stellar bottling from one of the Pacific Northwest’s standard-bearers, it’s a truly exciting first release.

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

• ABV 13.20%
• 15 mins
• Now – 2028
• % Chardonnay
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Cork