2021 Tan Fruit Chardonnay Cuvée Tan Fruit Willamette Valley 750 ml

“For those of us who can’t afford or even find great bottles of Burgundy, Willamette Valley Chardonnay is a dream come true, offering the sunny flesh of US fruit and the focused, laser-like acidity more often associated with European wines, and for a fraction of the price.”

Those are the words of the Wine Advocate, which has been touting the striking rise of Willamette Valley Chardonnay for several vintages. Our experience only confirms what their glowing praise and massive scores indicate. Every time we pour a blind lineup of $150 white Burgundy with a few Oregon ringers, those Beaver State bottles hang right with France’s finest. 

Born into one of the Willamette’s premier grape-growing families, the son of a legendary winemaker, Jim Maresh was practically destined for greatness from the moment he was old enough to punch down a cap. He’s made a stellar reputation on his own with the wines of Arterberry Maresh—his family’s label—and now with Tan Fruit, a recently launched label solely devoted to the Chardonnay of the region.

The Cuvée Tan Fruit might be priced like an entry-level bottling, but it’s sourced from an all-star lineup of vineyards across the Willamette Valley. The backbone of the wine is the Maresh Vineyard—Jim’s family’s legendary site on Worden Hill Road in the heart of the Dundee Hills—rounded out with carefully chosen sites in the prestigious AVAs of Yamhill-Carlton and the Eola-Amity Hills.

With its dry conditions and low yields, 2021 was a landmark year for Willamette Valley wines, with one veteran winemaker saying, “It will certainly rank as one of our top five vintages. It’s certainly a great vintage in the making and I don’t say that lightly.”