Wine Specs
Vintage
2024
Varietal
Chardonnay
Appellation
Willamette Valley
Harvest Date
9/19 & 9/20
pH
3.28
Alcohol %
13
2024 Lingua Franca Bunker Hill Chardonnay
New Release
Though crisp and bright on the tongue, Bunker Hill Estate Chardonnay 2024 reveals a surprisingly flinty, mineral nose—a combination of sea spray, green apples, and white flowers. On the palate, it offers a wealth of flavors: flint, ginger, quince, fresh herbs, and green apple. Layers of complexity unfold in the long, crystalline-pure finish, which is saline and citrusy, with a hint of wet stone and thyme. This wine is electric terroir.
Wine Profile
Vineyard Notes
Bunker Hill is 100% sourced from our Bunker Hill Estate Vineyard in the South Salem Hills and is the oldest source of fruit for any of our wines, having been planted in 1995 to CH76. It is among the earliest of the Dijon-clone plantings in Oregon, situated on the remnant of an 1840s pioneer farm. The soils are quite thin over the basalt bedrock and the slope faces the ocean winds on the west, which makes for thicker skins.
Production Notes
The grapes were handpicked to maximize freshness and tension in the finished wine. The grapes were 74% whole cluster pressed, and 26% crushed, settled in tank for 24 hours on average, then barrel fermented with native yeasts in a combination of 22% new, 600-liter puncheons and 78% old French oak barriques and puncheons from diverse coopers. Full malolactic fermentation completed spontaneously in each barrel. After 11 months aging on lees, the wines were combined in tank with their lees for five months prior to bottling.
Winemaker Notes
2024 has been described as a perfect growing season. Budbreak began in early April, and bloom took place third week of June. Early summer temperatures were in the 70s and 80s, with a couple of heat spikes in the high 90s, in July, when these can be beneficial. The temperatures became cooler in September and October, allowing harvest to extend more than a month with each parcel being picked at optimal ripeness and freshness. Picking began the second week of September, and each block could be picked at exactly the right time.
Food Pairing Notes
The precision and intensity of Bunker Hill calls for Tuna, Swordfish or Roast Lemon Chicken with Chanterelles. Fish such as sole, flounder or turbot served with lemon caper sauces would be delicious, as would a Mediterranean whole baked fish with green olives, rosemary, thyme and lemon. Ceviche and even Ban Mi or Pacific Northwest style salmon (whole or filet) brushed with a dill mayonnaise and slowly grilled wrapped with tinfoil to steam cook can be very good, and easy to do on the outdoor grill as well.
