Coeur de Terre 2022 Estate Chardonnay, Willamette Valley

The 2022 Coeur de Terre Estate Chardonnay opens like a morning that hasn’t decided to hurry—pear skin and lemon oil first, then a drift of chamomile, a suggestion of almond, and that unmistakable smell of wet stone after rain. Nothing glossy; just the vineyard breathing at its own pace.

On the palate the fruit moves with intention. Orchard notes broaden, briefly creamy, before a fine, saline edge tightens the finish. Texture reads as lees-born suppleness rather than oak sheen; acidity feels stitched in, not stitched on. Each sip resets the rhythm—open, focus, hush.

Place does the quiet heavy lifting. Coeur de Terre sits in the McMinnville AVA, tucked into a protective valley where coast-range air keeps ripeness honest and nights lend lift. The estate has been farmed with organic, minimally invasive methods since 1998, and you taste that steadiness—the vineyard’s habits turning into the wine’s posture. 

2022 shows up as clarity more than weight. The vintage gave Willamette Valley long, cool definition; here it reads as fruit with nerve rather than swagger. The cuvée is estate through and through—no outsourced personality—bottled to reflect the property’s mix of marine sediment and volcanic influence that gives Chardonnay its mineral through-line and gentle spice. 

Cellar work follows that ethos. CdT keeps interventions light—fermentation split between vessels and oak kept in the background to frame, not perfume—an approach they’ve long favored for balance and transparency. (You can see the estate’s own “organic from day one” philosophy and trade resources backing that stance.) 

This isn’t a Chardonnay that performs; it accompanies. Grill halibut, shave fennel over citrus, or pour a glass when the house finally goes quiet. It doesn’t chase attention. It earns another sip.

Coeur de Terre 2022 Estate Chardonnay—McMinnville calm, mineral poise, and a finish that speaks softly but stays.