The 2021 Chardonnay Casteel is complex and alluring, offering dynamic aromas and flavors as it unfurls with oxygen over several days. The nose offers lemon peel and panna cotta, spicy, honeyed undertones and streaks of flint. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and expansive with impressively concentrated, slightly exotic fruit driven by focused acidity, and just enough smoky reduction adds even more complexity to its generous fruit. Year after year, the Casteel is one of the best Chardonnays coming out of Oregon, and this 2021 is especially gorgeous!

The bright yellow straw-hued 2021 Chardonnay Casteel is elegant and floral, with a more refined perfume of lemongrass, delicate baking spice, green apple, and fennel. Silky and refined, a note of citrus oils coats the palate with a spine of fresh acidity underneath, and it has a long finish. It's going to need a few years in the cellar but will drink well over the subsequent 10-12 years.

The Casteel's aromatic combination of papaya, blood orange and macadamia nuts is almost as good as a nice suntan. Then a wave of pineapple, lime and orange sorbet flavors calls out for a cry of "cowabunga." Zingy acidity of the puckering variety keeps things lively.

Sweetly seductive, the 2021 Chardonnay Casteel blossoms with a gorgeous blend of mint leaf and vanilla custard, complementing freshly sliced nectarines. It smooths over the palate with ripe, mineral-tinged orchard fruits, maintaining fabulous energy. The 2021 leaves a salty flourish and hint of sour lime, finishing long and lightly structured. The balance within is stunning and will promote a long and steady evolution.