Today we share one of the exciting new winery projects out of Oregon. Aubane has Burgundy in mind with all of their wines. The winery focuses on single vineyard and estate only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Founder Andy Lytle connected with esteemed winemaker Isabelle Meunier to make a beautiful expression Eola-Amity Hills Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
For those less familiar with Isabelle, she has a longstanding history in the Willamette Valley, and has made beautiful wines under many labels. Originally from Quebec, Isabelle studied winemaking and viticulture at the University of Dijon and in New Zealand at Lincoln University before coming to the Willamette Valley.
I adored her new 2019 Aubaine ‘Anhata Vineyard’ Chardonnay (OB, 92) which is a wine with serious poise, and a long finish. Even better is the sinfully good 2019 Aubaine ‘Joie’ Pinot Noir (OB, 93) which has really good heft and finesse in a challenging vintage for Oregon Pinot Noir. Learn more about this outstanding new winery project at aubainewine.com and here are my reviews of the new Aubaine wines.
2019 Aubaine ‘Anahata Vineyard’ Chardonnay- The 2019 ‘Anahata Vineyard’ Chardonnay is a great new wine by the talented Isabelle Meunier. The palate shows a silky mouthfeel with great finesse. Layers of Meyer lemon zest, diatomaceous earth, green papaya and salted Marcona almond all brilliantly collide on the palate. With good fruit weight and tension, this beautiful wine will cellar well for at least another decade. Drink 2021-2031- 92
2019 Aubaine ‘Anahata Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- Dense and deeply colored considering the vintage, the 2019 ‘Anahata Vineyard’ Pinot Noir reveals black tea, blackberry compote and exotic spices with tilled salty soils on the nose. The palate shows good weight and a silky texture. Layers of red and dark fruits mingle with smoky minerals, damp earth and peat moss undertones. Seriously good even at the two year mark, this beautiful wine will provide drinking enjoyment over the next decade — or more. Drink 2021-2031- 92
2019 Aubaine ‘Joie’ Pinot Noir- The ‘Joie’ utilizes Pommard and Dijon clone 777 vines, as this was aged in 30% new French oak before bottling. Red currants mingle with orange rind, Christmas spices and wild blackberry on the nose. The palate is dense and chewy with a great sour red and dark fruit profile. With good richness, flavor density and finesse, this beautiful wine has a long way to go. This is impressive weight considering the vintage. Drink 2021-2033- 93