2023 Walter Scott Freedom Hill Vineyard Chardonnay

Walter Scott's 2023 Freedom Hill Vineyard Chardonnay comes from a single site in the Willamette Valley's Eola-Amity Hills, where Ken Pahlow and Erica Landon farm 35-year-old Dijon-clone vines on ancient basalt and marine sedimentary soils. The production style is reductive and oak-restrained, modeled on white Burgundy techniques that prioritize vineyard expression over winemaking intervention. This is one of the most distinctive Chardonnays in Oregon, built for tension rather than richness, and it stands apart from the fuller, warmer profile common to most West Coast bottlings. Ken Pahlow and Erica Landon founded Walter Scott in 2009 after years working harvests in Burgundy and Oregon, and their approach reflects that dual training. Fruit for the Freedom Hill bottling is whole-cluster pressed, fermented in neutral French oak with native yeasts, and aged sur lie without bâtonnage to preserve the wine's mineral drive. The Eola-Amity Hills appellation sits in the rain shadow of the Coast Range, where cooling Pacific winds and volcanic bedrock combine to produce wines with pronounced acidity and saline minerality. Walter Scott sources from some of the valley's most respected vineyards, but Freedom Hill remains the backbone of their Chardonnay program. The 2023 vintage opens with high-toned aromatics — lime zest, struck flint, toasted filberts, and a distinct coastal salinity that recalls wet stones after a rainstorm. On the palate, boisterous acidity lifts flavors of apricot, white peach, and a subtle thread of lemon verbena tea, finishing long and chalky with minimal oak imprint. This is a wine for oysters, fritto misto, or any preparation of Dover sole, and it benefits from a slight chill to keep the energy taut. It's also an excellent match for any Ivy album, as originally noted in our tasting notes. The 2023 Walter Scott Freedom Hill Vineyard Chardonnay is available for pickup at our Lincoln Park bottle shop at 1128 W Armitage Ave, local Chicago delivery, or nationwide shipping.