Flâneur 2023 Chardonnay Willamette Valley

750ml bottle
12.6% abv

Lemon curd, white peach, green apple, and a hint of toasted hazelnut on the nose. Medium-bodied, with bright acidity, fine texture, and a clean finish. Ripe fruit balanced by vibrant acidity, richness integrated from oak with zero buttery character.

100% Chardonnay. Fruit from La Belle Promenade Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains AVA and Flanerie Vineyard in Ribbon Ridge AVA. Both estate vineyards organically and biodynamically farmed without irrigation. Volcanic soils. 31% new French and Austrian oak – integrated, not dominant. 700 cases produced.

Winemaker Grant Coulter, formerly of Beaux Frères, has led the cellar since 2016.

Flâneur was founded in 2013 by Marty Doerschlag, an architect and designer from Virginia who purchased a 7-acre vineyard in the Ribbon Ridge AVA and converted 40 acres of abandoned cherry and prune orchard in the Chehalem Mountains into a 35-acre estate vineyard called La Belle Promenade, planted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier beginning in 2014. The winery is a partnership between Doerschlag, Russell Lichtenthal, and winemaker Grant Coulter.

Grant Coulter joined as winemaker and director of vineyards in 2016 after nine years at Beaux Frères, where he crafted wines including the number three wine in the world in Wine Spectator's 2016 Top 100. Coulter grew up connected to agriculture through his mother's family, studied enology at Fresno State, worked in multiple wine regions internationally, before coming to Oregon.

The 2016 vintage was his first full vine-to-bottle vintage at Flâneur. He describes the appeal of the project as the opportunity to pursue his winemaking vision without chemical inputs or manipulation, and farms with a hands-on, year-round approach treating viticulture and winemaking as a continuous process. 

The estate vineyards are organically and sustainably far medwithout irrigation, and hand-harvested.