2019 Nicholas Jay Affinités Chardonnay

A few months ago, our friends brought over this 2019 Nicholas Jay Affinités Chardonnay and we kept it in our wine cellar until we could invite them back to taste the wine together. So, recently we had them over and drank their wine with them. My husband thought that the right pairing for this Chardonnay would be crab cakes from SeaWell and he was right. Initially, the wine was a bit cold so the aromas and the first sip was not really indicative of what the wine would blossom into. We slowly sipped the Chardonnay between bites of the crabcake, the sauce for the crabcakes had chives and tarragon and those herbs really made the crabcakes the right pairing with the Chardonnay. Although the wine is made in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, it reminded me of a well made Burgundy. There is a reason for this. The Nicholas Jay Affinités Chardonnay is a collaboration between Burgundian winemaker Jean-Nicolas Méo and music entrepreneur Jay Boberg. In 2011, a visit to the Willamette Valley reignited Jay’s fascination with the region. It also inspired him to commit himself fully to his lifelong passion for wine. He approached Jean-Nicolas with the idea of starting a small winery in Oregon. After nearly a quarter century of making wine at Meo-Camuzet, Jean-Nicolas was excited by the idea of taking what he’s learned from the grands and premiers crus of Burgundy, and applying it to a new region, a new climate, new soils and new vineyards.¹
We are so glad that our friends shared this Chardonnay with us! I learned about the Nicholas Jay collaboration and their passion for making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley.
References:
1. Nicholas Jay Website.