One of the rising stars in the Willamette Valley, Big Table Farm relies on the winemaking talents of superstar winemaker Brian Marcy. He crafts some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Oregon. Marcy has previously worked at Neyers in Napa prior to coming to the Willamette Valley with his talented wife, Clare Carver. Clare’s gorgeous art appears on all Big Table Farm bottles as she goes through the painstaking process of importing her paper from Italy and hand labeling all bottles.
Brian has gained a sterling reputation for his Chardonnay bottlings which are now appearing on fine dining lists from Seattle to New York. I recently had the chance to review the past four vintages of Big Table Farm Chardonnay. Each come from relatively warm vintages in Oregon. A bit on the vintages to start. 2012 has been regarded as one of classic vintages, leading to wonderful tension in these age-worthy wines. 2013 was slightly warmer but endured the worst harvest rainstorm in memory — fortunately the fruit for the 2013 Big Table Chardonnay was picked before the storm. 2014 and 2015 were warm vintages in Oregon, which typically led to a more opulent style of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
The retrospective showed a nice range of style, as the 2012 Chardonnay (WWB, 93) was showing a more sterling minerality and had more of a Burgundian feel. The 2015 Chardonnay (WWB, 93) was hugely intense, with more of an exotic edge and a wonderful richness. The 2013 and 2014 were somewhere in between the elegance of the ’12 and the richness and intensity of the ’15. Overalll, this was a simply stunning representation of Oregon Chardonnay. Learn more about these special wines at http://bigtablefarm.com Here is my Big Table Farm Chardonnay Retrospective:
2012 Big Table Farm ‘Willamette Valley’ Chardonnay- This wine has an incredible richness and tension. The tropical fruit aromatics are pretty vivid right now. This has wonderful balance with flavors of banana, ripe pineapple, Pink Lady apple and lemon zest. The astringency gives this an old world feel and the weight suggests this will age well into the next decade. Drink 2017-2025- 93
2013 Big Table Farm ‘Willamette Valley’ Chardonnay- This wine is darker in color than the ’12 Chardonnay and shows more musty and earthy edges on the nose. Roasted hazelnut, Meyer lemon, wild mushroom and baked apple aromas come to mind. There is wonderful weight on the mid-palate, as this takes on more of an unctuous character. The tension is marvelous too as the wine reveals creme brûlée, lemon curd, ripe pineapple and macadamia nut flavors. The wine is every bit as outstanding as the ’12 bottling. The exceedingly long, cream driven finish lingers. Drink 2017-2025- 93
2014 Big Table Farm ‘Willamette Valley’ Chardonnay- The deep colored Chardonnay seems to show some nice spice accents out of the gate with nutmeg, alongside vanilla cream and roasted almonds. This is currently taking on an old-world feel, much like the ’12 Big Table Chardonnay. The tension is lovely and drives this wine, displaying minerals, white peach, Gravenstein apple and a touch of gooseberry. Lithe and light on its feet, this wine will be a long-ager. Drink 2017-2027- 93
2015 Big Table Farm ‘Willamette Valley’ Chardonnay- The wine takes on a distinctly tropical fruit bouquet with roasted pineapple, bananas foster and creme brûlée accents with a smoky edge. The sterling minerality shines through here, as the wine reveals a downright awesome combination of tension and weight. Creme brulee, Meyer lemon zest, Pazzaz apple and nutmeg flavors show nice weight. The oily texture coats the mid-palate. This finishes long with Meyer lemon cream. Drink 2017-2027- 93