Tan Fruit: Explore Oregon Terroir with Jim Maresh of Arterberry Maresh
You know the Maresh family for their stunning examples of old-vine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In the spirit of experimentation Jim decided to launch a separate label, named Tan Fruit, in order to craft Oregon Chardonnay completely untethered. After blowing us away during a visit to the shop and sweeping Wine Advocate’s 2021 Oregon Chardonnay awards, there’s something special going on! Jim noted that his goal was “to explore outside of the Dundee Hills.” In future vintages, he will continue to explore, sourcing from a mixture of vineyards, new sources, and even new regions within Oregon.He began Tan Fruit to “experiment and play around with techniques” for crafting Chardonnay, but the essentials for making Oregon Chard great in the winery will always be in his mind to pick early, age in a combination of steel and oak, and to ferment bone dry. He said that he loves Chardonnay. It’s his “favorite to drink and favorite to make.”
Sourcing from vineyards throughout the Willamette Valley, these represent dry-farmed artistry at its finest. These Chardonnays exhibit a complete and unique showing of Oregon’s terror as well as the varietals reputation for being a “winemaker’s grape”. Regardless of vineyard location, vine age and élevage these are both delightfully accessible now and yet demand further bottle age.
We also can’t get enough of Jim’s winemaking in the estate lineup, with the critics agreeing with us! Consistently one of the top scoring Oregon Chardonnay’s on the market, you’d be hard pressed to find a dry-farmed chardonnay of this caliber and price point anywhere. Shop the full lineup now!