Chardonnay, 00 Wines "VGW" 2022

00 only released their first wines with the 2015 vintage, but as relative newcomers they’ve certainly created quite the splash, with a best-Chardonnay-made-in-America stamp of approval already and a lengthy waiting list. Why? Because if you like reductive Chardonnay à la PYCM, they’re making it. Chris Hermann grew up in Oregon learning from his father, a plant geneticist at Oregon State University, before spending three decades as a lawyer, most often hammering out deals on vineyard sales. These experiences gave him an in-depth understanding of the important vineyard sites in the area, and he slowly began accumulating a star-studded list of source material- Seven Springs, Hyland, Eola Springs, etc.  To make good wine, though, you need more than good fruit. Chris and his wife Kathryn reached out to Pierre Millemann, an Alsatian-Breton consultant at small up-and-coming wineries such as DRC, Gaja, and Domaine Dujac, who’s led them down the brown-juice-makes-healthy-and-reductive-Chardonna