2020 Hundred Suns ‘Old Eight Cut’ Chardonnay

Responsibly Farmed
Hidden Gem
Classic in Style

Did Grant Coulter just (dare I say it) single-handedly put Oregon Chardonnay on the map? Yes, Oregon Chardonnay has been around, but do you reach for it before Burgundy or California? You will now.

Organic farming practices, native yeast fermentation, unfiltered, and minimal sulfur additions only after fermentation.

White
  • Tasting Notes bright apple, meyer lemon, white peony, evergreen, wet stone, vanilla bean
  • Variety Chardonnay
  • Region United States, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  • Volume 750ml
  • Alcohol Volume 12.9%
  • Table Talk The name of this wine, ‘Old Eight Cut’, comes from a diamond cut dating back to the 1400’s using simple tools and few cuts to enhance the natural brilliance of the stone without disguising its true nature.

$38.00

Out of stock

“When we met over 16 years ago, we agreed on a fundamental idea: we wanted to build a life together that felt like an adventure. We left California for Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where Grant first worked as assistant winemaker at Hamacher wines and then spent the bulk of 10 years as the assistant winemaker and then head winemaker at Beaux Freres. Those ten years were rich. I continued teaching high school while Grant gained intimate understanding and appreciation of the soils, climates, and personalities (both land and people) of the valley. We started a family. We made good friends, drank beautiful wines, and dreamed of a life that would bring us more together than apart.

In 2015, we sold our house in Portland, scraped together every penny we had, and moved to a fixer-upper in the valley so that we could build Hundred Suns. Eventually, Grant moved on from Beaux Freres to overseeing the vineyards and winemaking for Flaneur Wines and I swapped the classroom for the cellar and running the day-to-day business. From winemaking, to label design, website building, and even wax dipping bottles by hand, every aspect of this process has our fingerprints on it because it is just the two of us.

In 2018 we bought a 4.5 acre property in the Eola-Amity hills where the 50 year-old vineyard was our children’s backyard. Farming this site will bring us even closer to the wines that we have the pleasure of making and managing together. So far it has been a beautiful adventure indeed, and we’re just getting started.” – Renée Saint-Amour

Hundred Suns in a passion project that was started by husband and wife team, Grant Coulter & Renée Saint-Amour. Read more about Grant Coulter in our Meet the Maker series.

CHARDONNAY
As one of the most popular grapes for growing and consuming, Chardonnay can be made in a wide range of styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. These styles can vary from a sparkling Blanc de Blanc, or fresh fermented in stainless steel, to rich and creamy white wine aged in oak barrels. While Chardonnay can flourish in many environments, in its homeland of Burgundy it can produce some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. Whereas from California it can produce both oaky, buttery styles as well as leaner, European-inspired wines. A Somm secret: the Burguny subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style with high levels of acidity. Most people who do not like oaky/buttery Chardonnay may likely enjoy Chablis. Notable regions for this grape include Burgundy (and Chablis) in France, Central Coast, Napa, and Sonoma in CA, and Western Australia. When pairing with meals, consider the characteristics, flavors, and acidity of your food first. You always want to try to match the same characteristics and intensities with your wine. No brainer pairing options include seafood, salads, and white meat. Chardonnay, with its vast versatility, is everyone’s best friend.

WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON
The Willamette Valley AVA lies to the west of the Cascade Mountains south of the city, Portland in Oregon. Stretching into Southern Oregon, this region has the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards. With cool breezes from the Pacific Ocean, dry, long sunny days, and cool nights, Willamette Valley is prime territory for growing Burgundian grapes: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. With the first planting’s back in the 1960’s, this region has grown slowly, but significantly, producing top quality and world-renown wines from mostly small wineries.