Painting The Picture: Flâneur Wines’ Willamette Valley Chardonnay Program
The vineyard’s geological diversity, predominantly volcanic parent material, contributes to the unique profiles of our Willamette Valley Chardonnays. In the rocky sections, Chardonnays exhibit focus, energy, citrus tones, and brilliant acidity. Conversely, the more decomposed and rich soils toward the vineyard’s east and west produce Chardonnays with greater weight, richness, and floral tones. These variations allow us to craft a kaleidoscope of tastes, textures, and aromas, akin to an artist layering oils on a canvas. Each Willamette Valley Chardonnay in our portfolio—La Belle Promenade Chardonnay, Cuvée Constantin Chardonnay, and Bon Vivant Chardonnay—is intentionally crafted to portray a unique picture, each compelling and exciting.
La Belle Promenade Chardonnay, Willamette Valley
The La Belle Promenade Chardonnay is a unique portrait of the same vineyard each year. By design, it has the most symmetry, balancing the mineral, saline, and lemon-like tones of the rocky sections of the vineyard with just enough of the richness from the decomposed sections of soil. Consequently, this Willamette Valley Chardonnay consistently reflects the vineyard’s balance year after year.
Cuvée Constantin Chardonnay, Willamette Valley
Like painting with thick oil paints layered on top to create deep textures and bold colors, the Cuvée Constantin Chardonnay has always been a feast for the senses. In the late afternoon light, our blocks of Chardonnay to the west are saturated. As a result, the skins thicken and are imbued with a golden kiss that produces notes of candle wax, honey, and graham. On their own, they can be full and powerful. After fermentation, we hunt for the barrels that show this character and blend back just enough acid and freshness from the surrounding blocks to fashion a wine that plays heavy on style. Additionally, a complex mix of French and Austrian oak is layered on top, just enough to make the richness of the wine stand out, but not so much as to become the dominant tone. Indeed, with a few years of age, this Willamette Valley Chardonnay always shows best.
Bon Vivant Chardonnay, Willamette Valley
The Bon Vivant Chardonnay, as its name implies, is in a class by itself. Each year, as we taste through our cellar, certain barrels rise to the top. It could be their sense of decadent power, or their graceful precision and minerality that draw us to those barrels. Consequently, each time we revisit these special barrels, the blurry image of the final composition begins to take form. Ultimately, in the end, it is our yearly masterstroke: our most complex and layered wine. With a full spectrum of ripe fruits, layers of floral aromas are gilded with the brilliant spice from new oak. Truly, the Bon Vivant is a true masterpiece of a Willamette Valley Chardonnay.
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