Antica Terra was founded in 2005 by Maggie Harrison, a former assistant winemaker at Sine Qua Non in California, who purchased an estate in the Eola-Amity Hills of Oregon's Willamette Valley with the ambition of producing wines that could stand alongside the greatest in the world. The Aequorin is Antica Terra's Chardonnay, named after the bioluminescent protein found in jellyfish, taking its unusual name from Harrison's interest in the hidden chemical processes that produce extraordinary natural phenomena. Like all Antica Terra wines, the Aequorin is produced through entirely natural winemaking: indigenous yeasts, foot treading, siphons and buckets rather than electric pumps.

The 2022 Aequorin offers what Antica Terra describes as 'knockout mineral saturated scents of seaspray, acacia flower, pomelo oil and iodine, utterly seamless on the palate with a compelling combination of refinement, concentration and acid balance, its mineral tension intensified by brisk acidity, finishing with a weightless elegance and implied mica-like structure.' The Eola-Amity Hills' volcanic basalt and marine sedimentary soils impart a distinctive mineral character that Harrison's minimal-intervention approach transmits directly to the wine without winemaking filtration.

Antica Terra occupies a singular position in Oregon winemaking: it combines the ambition and philosophy of a natural wine estate with the consistency and quality control of a properly resourced serious producer. Maggie Harrison's wines have accumulated a devoted following and sustained critical attention, with the Aequorin and the Antikythera among the most sought-after expressions from the Willamette Valley's Eola-Amity Hills subzone. Production is extremely limited and the wines are distributed primarily by allocation.

Best from 2026 to 2035. Pair with grilled turbot, lobster, oysters or aged mountain cheese. Serve at 12 degrees Celsius in a broad white Burgundy glass.

Pale gold with mineral shimmer. The nose is distinctive and compelling: seaspray, acacia flower, pomelo oil, iodine and a mica-like mineral quality from the volcanic soils. The palate is utterly seamless with exceptional acid balance, refined concentration and a long, mineral and weightless finish. One of Oregon's most unusual and exciting Chardonnays.