Walter Scott
Walter Scott is one of Oregon’s most celebrated producers, and one of the greatest exponents of Chardonnay in the US. Founded by husband and wife team Ken Pahlow and Erica Landon in 2008, Walter Scott has shot to fame for its restrained, taut, mineral expressions of Willamette Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Ken and Erica purchase fruit from a variety of vineyards, and produce three tiers of wine in both varieties: Combe Verte, a Willamette blend; cuvées Anne and Ruth, Eola-Amity blends from volcanic soils; and various single vineyard expressions.
Much of the magic of the Walter Scott wines lies in the vineyard, in keeping with most great wines. Ken prefers to reduce yields to achieve concentration, but then to pick 5-7 days earlier than his neighbors in order to reduce pH and alcohol, maintain freshness and avoid excessive ripeness. In the winery, Ken crushes some Chardonnay, an atypical Chardonnay technique, designed to extract some solid content from the skins and create phenolic structure and freshness. Some proportion of whole cluster (20-30%) is usually used on Pinot Noir. All wines are aged in French barriques.
The resultant wines show American ripeness and purity of fruit, but harnessed by firm acid and tannin structures, and a touch of reduction which contributes tension and energy to the wines. It is an unusual and distinctive recipe for an American winery, and frequently thrills those new to the wines. Few insiders doubt either that Walter Scott is among Oregon’s finest producers, or that the Chardonnays are among the country’s finest.
