More about Atomique3

If you talk to the most forward-thinking winemakers in Oregon right now, many of them will tell you that Chardonnay, not Pinot Noir, is the true star of the Willamette Valley. Today, we delve into that claim with a brand-new project that strips Oregon Chardonnay down to its absolute elemental core: Atomique³.

To understand the emotional and historical weight of Atomique³, we have to talk about the late, great Mark Tarlov. Mark was a brilliant visionary, a pioneering Oregon vintner, and a tremendous, long-time friend of the shop. Even while he was deeply entrenched in exploring Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Mark always harbored a persistent, nagging belief: that if you found the exact right soils, Oregon could produce a mineral-driven, high-acid Chardonnay capable of going toe-to-toe with elite White Burgundy.

Sadly, Mark passed away in 2020 before he could fully realize this specific dream. But his close friends and collaborators refused to let his vision die. Renowned terroir expert Pedro Parra and winemaker Felipe Ramirez decided to honor Mark's legacy by crafting the exact Chardonnay he always knew was possible. To ensure the wines had the necessary sensitivity and precision, Parra picked up the phone and called France, enlisting the guidance of a mutual friend: legendary Meursault producer Jean-Marc Roulot.

The philosophy behind Atomique³ is brilliantly simple but incredibly ambitious: isolate the two grand terroirs of the Willamette Valley and bottle them side-by-side to allow the geology to speak with museum-quality clarity.