The Richard Hermann Cuvée is the most revered of the three Hermann Family Cuvée Chardonnays produced by 00 Wines, named for Chris Hermann’s late father Dr Richard Hermann, who was a distinguished botanist and forestry educator at Oregon State University. Dr Hermann’s deep connections to the Willamette Valley’s scientific and agricultural community were formative for his son’s understanding of the valley’s soils and viticultural potential. The cuvée is assembled each year from the single finest barrels available in the entire 00 Wines programme, making it the most limited and most intensely scrutinised release from this rapidly expanding house.

The 2023 vintage in the Willamette Valley produced Chardonnay of exceptional natural balance, clarity and acidity across the valley’s sub-appellations, combining a cool and extended growing season with steady sugar accumulation to create conditions ideal for the restrained, phenolic house style that 00 Wines, under the guidance of French consultant Pierre Millemann, has consistently pursued since the project’s inception. The Richard Hermann Cuvée is sourced from a high-elevation single vineyard site in the Eola-Amity Hills, where volcanic basalt soils and the moderating influence of the Van Duzer winds contribute the wine’s characteristic mineral precision and cool-climate fruit purity.

James Suckling described the 2023 Richard Hermann Cuvée as “subtle and transparent... full-bodied yet tight and intense with phenolics that flow through the wine. A fantastic Chardonnay with lots of flavour and texture,” placing it among the top-scoring still Chardonnays in his annual Willamette Valley tasting report. The wine was further acknowledged as one of the standout wines of the 2023 Oregon season. Previous vintages have earned extraordinary scores across the board: 99 points from James Suckling in 2019, 98 in both 2018 and 2022 from James Suckling, and 99 from Jeb Dunnuck for the 2021.

Subtle and transparent at first pour, with a delicate nose of citrus oil, green peach, chalk, crushed volcanic stone and a characteristic reductive thread of struck match. Full-bodied yet tight and precise on the palate, with phenolics that flow through the wine and give it a silk-like but firmly structured presence. Intense and long on the finish; best from 2027 through 2040.