March 25, 2024
New reviews of impressive and affordable Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and more from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, California’s Russian River Valley and beyond, up to 92 points.
Tasting Highlights’ wine reviews are fresh out of the tasting room, offering a sneak peek of our editors’ most recent ratings—including scores and full tasting notes—to WineSpectator.com members.
As wine fans know, sometimes it can be difficult keeping purchases within a budget. But the recently reviewed wines in this lineup deliver fantastic value, along with all the quality you could want from a bottle. The average price here is about $24, and all of these bottlings are made in sizable volumes, which should make for easier shopping.
Among the top-scoring wines is a spry and sleek Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Argyle, a sparkling-wine pioneer in Willamette Valley; but Argyle also makes a range of still wines, including reds from Willamette Valley’s signature grape variety: Pinot Noir. For its 2022 bottling, Argyle tapped four estate vineyards within the Dundee Hills and Eola-Amity Hills subappellations.
Pinot Noir isn’t the only wine Willamette Valley does well. Chardonnay from Oregon has seen its stock rise in recent years, and Soléna’s rich yet graceful bottling fits the regional style with lemon tart and pear flavors. There’s also a small amount of Riesling grown in Willamette Valley. The region’s cool weather is well-suited to the grape, offering just enough sun for ripening, yet with cool evenings that help preserve acidity in the resulting wines. Elk Cove grows Riesling on three of its estate vineyards, with some vines dating to 1975, and the winery’s 2021 bottling is refreshing with green apple, honeysuckle and petrol notes.
Not Your Typical California Cabernet
When one thinks of Cabernet Sauvignon in California, regions like Napa Valley, Sonoma or even Paso Robles probably come to mind. But these are far from California’s only Cabernet hubs. In California’s Central Valley, Lodi is home to twice as many Cabernet vines compared with Napa. Long thought of as a workhorse region producing bulk wines, the area has matured of late, as growers leave the commodity grape business and fine-tune their vineyards for premium grapegrowing. Still, Lodi doesn’t have as much global recognition as Napa or Sonoma; as a trade-off, wineries can keep prices down, as shown with the plump and forward McManis bottling in this lineup, which is a steal at $12.
MORGAN
Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands Highland 2022
Score: 90 | $30
WS review: Mouthwatering pear, apple, lemon zest and lime sherbet notes are vibrant and energetic in this white, offering an appealing note of salted butterscotch on a sleek body. Drink now. 4,535 cases made. From California.—MaryAnn Worobiec
California and Oregon Wines: Grapes, Leading Producers, Regions and More
Over recent decades, California and Oregon have helped enhance the reputation of wines from the United States and its West Coast. Wine lovers can now look to a wide range of bottlings from across both states, including reds and whites made from Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and more. While these grapes have become key on the West Coast, styles can vary dramatically across state lines and subregions: For instance, Oregon’s Pinot Noirs tend to be minerally and earthy while many California versions are richer with darker fruit and spice notes. And Oregon’s Chardonnays are often closer in style to those from France’s Burgundy (Chardonnay’s origin region), whereas versions from California might be plusher with rich tropical fruit notes.
With that said, wineries in both states are experimenting with winemaking and grapegrowing techniques, which means there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to styles. What can be said is that these leading wineries have brought acclaim to a number of appellations, including Oregon’s Willamette Valley and its subregions (such as Dundee Hills and Eola-Amity Hills) as well as California’s Napa Valley, Sonoma (including Russian River Valley), Lodi, Santa Barbara and more. It’s always a great time to explore styles from these wineries, including popular wine producers such as Argyle, Purple Hands and Soléna, among many others.
To cap this all off, many California and Oregon wineries are making wines that offer fantastic value, making them excellent reds and whites to sip upon release or even to collect. While some West Coast appellations have reputations for high-priced wines, this is far from a universal truth, and it is absolutely possible to find great bottlings under $50, $40 and even $35. Discover fantastic value wines from the West Coast and get our new scores and tasting notes for recently rated California and Oregon wines priced $30 or less.
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