In The Glass: Big Sissy Chardonnay 2012

Last Friday, I went to a local wine shop here in Eugene, Oregon, to look for some of the wines I had tried by the many incredible wineries I visited while on a media trip in Murcia, Spain.  No such luck with the Spanish wines, but I did get lucky with the free Friday evening tasting that just-so-happened to be going on.  The featured winery was Gorman Winery out of Washington state’s Woodinville area.

The first of three wines I tried was the 2012 Big Sissy Chardonnay ($35).  Expecting a rich and bold expression of the varietal, like many other Chardonnays I’ve tasted from Washington, I was taken-back by it’s crispness and lovely acidity.  Although it was crisp, there was a gorgeous lush mouthfeel that could not go unnoticed – I knew right away it must have seen some new oak.  After discussing the wine with the distributor, I discovered it had aged nine months in new French oak.  It only went through partial ML and fermented on the lees, which all explains why there were crisp, yet lush qualities that I truly loved.  Sublime and pretty complex, I loved that the tropical fruitiness (apple, pineapple, mango) was balanced out perfectly with the citrusy acidity.  This is not your typical Columbia Valley Chardonnay.

I also tried two of Gorman’s red blends that most certainly stood out from the crowd: The Devil You Know 2011 and  The Ghost 2010 (the Ghost of 413).  The Ghost was sort of a “ghost” since it was made anonymously for some time – until winemakers Chris Gorman and Mary Ryan (Mark Ryan Winery) let the cat out of the bag.  It’s said that they wanted to prove to some of Washington’s giants that a stellar red blend can be produced and sold for under $20 dollars.  I believe they’ve proven their point.