Walter Scott “La Combe Verte”
willamette valley , oregon | 2021
If some of you don’t already know, Chardonnay is my jam, and this wine has quickly become one of my new favorite domestic producers! We are quickly seeing in our market that US winemakers are taking the hint from Burgundy to cool down on the oak and cool down with phenolic ripeness. This is an era where domestic wines are no longer “classically” big bodied and overly manipulated in the cellar. The French term terroir has again joined the English wine vernacular and we don’t think it will be going away anytime soon.
To say that winemaker Ken Pahlow and his wife Erica Landon are passionate about the quality and authenticity of their wines may be the understatement of the year. Along with assistance from close friends and family, since 2008 the couple have given all of their blood, sweat, and tears (and all of their life savings and retirement) into building Walter Scott winery. The name Walter Scott is in tribute to Ken’s grandfather Walter who chased his dreams for a career in aviation, and also to his nephew Scott who sadly passed at a young age which inspired Ken to take chances in life reminding himself to do what you love as tomorrow is not guaranteed.
We are beyond excited to finally get Walter Scott wines into the Illinois market this year and when I heard that Le Midi would be offered a small amount of some, I jumped on the opportunity knowing I would add one to July’s wine club so all of our subscribers could experience just how incredible they are. Based primarily in the volcanic-soiled Eola-Amity appellation in Oregon, Ken hand selects his most favored organic and biodynamically farmed vineyards and works tirelessly alongside the farmers to produce fruit of exquisitely high quality that would make even some of the best Burgundian domaines blush. In fact, in Ken’s winemaking trajectory he worked under Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon (one of the most prestigious domaines in all of Burgundy) who has assisted a few discerning Oregon winemakers in producing wines of profound finesse and restraint.
“La Combe Verte” is one of Walter Scott’s entry-level blend of several vineyards of which Ken annually produces around 400 cases and which is a spectacular way to experience the quality of his wines before delving into their pricier and age-worthy single-vineyard wines. Only native yeasts are allowed for fermentation alongside judicious aging in 20% new French barriques resting ten months before being lightly filtered before bottling. The outcome is simply delicious: comingled with abundant ripe orchard fruits are hints of lemon oil, peach skin, underripe pineapple, beeswax and acacia flowers that unfold layer upon layer as the wine opens. This is a shoe-in for a pairing with broiled red snapper and buttery herbed spaghetti squash.