Our 2024 Astria Willamette Valley Pinot Blanc: Featured in Bigger Than Your Head.
“lively and gulpable, but you’ll want to savor every drop.”
Fredric Koeppel recently tasted a bevy of Willamette Valley Pinot Blancs and deemed eleven of them to be “Wine that are Worth a Search” in his Substack Newsletter Bigger Than Your Head.
Fredric notes:
“Light straw-gold hue; wow! — acacia blossom, lemongrass, sea-salt; yellow plum, green apple and spiced pear; a few moments in the glass bring out notes of lemon balm and sage and a touch of preserved lemon; then a wave of limestone minerality; prickly acidity keeps it lively and gulpable, but you’ll want to savor every drop. Now through 2027 to ‘29. Excellent.”
We are particularly interested in his comment about Minerality in wine.
Minerality in wine is an elusive character in the New World. For some drinkers, it is the holy grail for white wines. What pleases us most about this wine, and highlighted in Frederic’s notes, is that though the wine displays minerality, it is far “austere”. In addition to the saline note of “sea salt”, he also describes ripe fruit flavors such as “yellow plum” and “spiced pear”, as well as herbaceous notes like “lemon balm”, “sage”, and “preserved lemon”. These notes support the idea that this wine is nuanced and layered, the hallmarks of a serious white wine.
But not just serious, playful too!
Frederick notes the wine is “gulpable” and that “you’ll want to savor every drop”. One of the things we try to do at PROJECT M is craft wines that don’t easily fit into a single box. We want to make wines that serious wine geeks can enjoy, but can be easily shared with friends who just want something crushable. We want to make wines that aren’t just layered with flavors and aromas but with possibilities. We think wines should be seriously fun!
Food pairing with Pinot Blanc
Pinot Blanc is similar to Chardonnay in that the winemaker can profoundly influence the style. We see our Willamette Valley Pinot Blanc occupying a food pairing niche similar to Chablis or Alsatian version of Pinot Gris. Fredericks notes of “limestone minerality” and “sea salt” suggest this wine will pair beautifully with anything from oceans or rivers, raw or cooked:
- Salmon Ceviche
-Oysters on the half shell
-Grilled calamari steaks
-Seared halibut.
-Shrimp tacos
However, don’t overlook the potential of this wine to pair with meat and vegtable dishes:
- grilled chicken
-Grilled pork chops,
-tomato panzanella salad
-Pasta with Summer Vegtables and Olive Oil (hot or cold)
It has the texture to stand up to somewhat hardy foods and the delicacy and acidity to complement lighter fare.
2024 PROJECT M Astria Pinot Blanc Willamette Valley