Evening Land Seven Springs La Source Chardonnay 2022

Evening Land Seven Springs La Source Chardonnay 2022 is a 750ml, 13.2% ABV single-vineyard Chardonnay from Oregon's Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Awarded 95 points by James Suckling and recognized by the World's Best Sommeliers' Selection, this limited-production bottling—just 680 cases—channels a distinctly Burgundian sensibility through one of the Willamette Valley's most celebrated vineyard sites.

Quick Facts: ABV: 13.2%  |  Origin: Eola-Amity Hills AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon  |  Vintage: 2022  |  Vineyard: Seven Springs

Production & Heritage

Seven Springs Vineyard sits in the heart of the Eola-Amity Hills, where marine sedimentary soils and persistent Van Duzer Corridor winds create conditions unusually suited to Chardonnay of tension and minerality. Evening Land's winemaking program benefits from the consulting expertise of Dominique Lafon, the legendary Burgundian vigneron behind Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Meursault. La Source undergoes indigenous yeast fermentation followed by full malolactic fermentation, then matures for nine months in 500-liter Stockinger puncheons—Austrian oak coopered with a very light toast, 30% new—before spending an additional six months in stainless steel. This split-aging regimen preserves the wine's crystalline fruit while allowing the distinctive Stockinger oak to contribute subtle textural weight without dominating the palate.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: The nose opens with struck match and flint, giving way to lemon zest, Fuji apple, and beeswax. Underneath, delicate notes of panna cotta and fresh flowers add aromatic complexity without heaviness.

Taste: The entry is satiny and precise, delivering green apple and stony mineral tones that build through the mid-palate into lemon verbena, blanched almond, and ripe orchard fruit. A saline thread runs throughout, while baking spice and rosemary nuances emerge as the wine opens. Medium to full-bodied, the palate balances luxurious softness with fireworks of fresh acidity and tremendous clarity.

Finish: The finish is steely and persistent, with lingering mineral salinity and citrus pith that sharpen as the richness recedes. A quiet echo of green melon and crushed stone stays well after the last sip.

How to Drink La Source Chardonnay

This wine is best served neat at around 55°F to let the reductive tension and mineral detail unfold fully; a brief period in the glass rewards patience as the floral and spice layers develop. White Burgundy-style service in a broad-bowled glass is ideal. Given its weight and structure, La Source also performs admirably in food-centric settings rather than cocktails—its complexity is best appreciated without dilution or competing flavors.

Best For

• Impressing a Burgundy enthusiast with a New World alternative of comparable seriousness
• Anchoring a curated wine dinner alongside refined seafood courses
• Cellaring two to five years to explore how the Stockinger oak integrates further
• Gifting a collector who values small-production, critic-acclaimed Chardonnay

Frequently Asked Questions

What does La Source Chardonnay taste like? La Source delivers a core of green apple and lemon zest wrapped in saline minerality, with supporting notes of blanched almond, beeswax, and baking spice. It is medium to full-bodied with a satiny texture and a steely, persistent finish.

How does La Source compare to white Burgundy? With Dominique Lafon consulting on the winemaking, La Source shares the taut citrus-and-mineral architecture of a fine Puligny-Montrachet, though it replaces some of Burgundy's crushed oatmeal richness with a more overt floral and saline character drawn from the Eola-Amity Hills' volcanic and marine soils. At 680 cases, its production scale is comparable to many premier cru Burgundies.

Is La Source good for sipping neat? Absolutely—it is built for attentive, unadorned drinking, where its layers of mineral detail, reductive complexity, and acidity can be fully appreciated. Serving slightly below room temperature at around 55°F is recommended.

Where is La Source made? La Source is produced from 100% Chardonnay grown at Seven Springs Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA of Oregon's Willamette Valley. The vineyard's marine sedimentary soils and cool, wind-influenced climate define the wine's minerality and tension.

What foods pair well with La Source Chardonnay? Dungeness crab with drawn butter highlights the wine's saline and citrus notes. Roasted halibut with herbs echoes its rosemary and green apple tones. Aged Comté cheese mirrors its beeswax and almond character. Risotto with spring vegetables complements its creamy texture, and seared scallops with lemon beurre blanc match its weight and acidity.

What sizes does La Source come in? Evening Land Seven Springs La Source Chardonnay 2022 is available in the standard 750ml bottle.

Is La Source worth the price? La Source positions as a premium single-vineyard Chardonnay with ultra-limited production of just 680 cases, Burgundian consulting pedigree, and a 95-point James Suckling score. Within the context of serious, age-worthy American Chardonnay—and especially compared to the white Burgundies it invites comparison with—it represents strong value for the quality tier.

Why La Source?

What separates La Source from the broader field of Oregon Chardonnay is its uncommon production architecture: indigenous fermentation guided by Dominique Lafon's Burgundian philosophy, matured in lightly toasted 500-liter Stockinger puncheons from Austria rather than conventional French barriques. The result is a wine that achieves reductive tension and mineral purity without sacrificing textural generosity—a balance that earned it 95 points from James Suckling and a World's Best Sommeliers' Selection distinction. With only 680 cases produced, La Source is among the most limited and critically recognized Chardonnays in the Eola-Amity Hills, standing as evidence that Seven Springs Vineyard can rival top-tier Burgundian sites for complexity and longevity.