Barrel tasting with winemaker Guillaume Large.
Each time we visit Guillaume Large at Résonance Wines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, there’s a quiet certainty in the cellar. The barrels may hold the stories of different years, but the thread that ties them together is unmistakable: precision, patience, and an unwavering pursuit of expressing place.
Since Maison Louis Jadot established Résonance in 2013 as its first project outside Burgundy, the goal has never been to recreate Burgundy in Oregon, but to apply Burgundian sensibilities to the singular terroirs of the Willamette Valley. Under the meticulous hand of winemaker Guillaume Large, the wines have not only proven their consistency year after year but continue to show a deepening complexity and confidence with each vintage.
The 2023 Résonance wine lineup.
We’ve had the opportunity to taste with Guillaume several times since 2019, and each visit reinforces that this is a winery hitting its stride. During our most recent barrel and bottle tasting, we explored a trio of vintages—2023, 2024, and 2025—that together showcased both the challenges and rewards of working so closely with nature in a region known for its variability.
Three Vintages, Three Personalities
As Guillaume puts it, “We make the wines the same—the only difference is the vineyard.” That philosophy was clear as we moved through wines still finding their shape in barrel and those nearly ready for release.
Harvested pinot noir at Résonance vineyard.
2023 was, in his words, “a very beautiful season—warm, with a few heat spikes,” which gave the vines energy and concentration, though some younger plantings felt the stress of late-summer dryness. The resulting wines are layered and bright, showing maturity and complexity that will benefit from time in bottle. “It’s not a vintage that shows itself immediately,” he noted, “but it’s a very promising one.”
Guillaume Large sampling Pinot grapes during Harvest 2024.
2024 was a contrast, a year that Guillaume calls “more Oregon in style.” Shifts between warm and cool, wet and dry, led to slower ripening and expressive, fruit-driven wines. The Willamette Valley’s signature freshness and energy are at the forefront here, with red and black fruits interplaying over a subtle mineral backbone. The vintage speaks eloquently of place: elegant yet vibrant, with a natural ease that feels true to the region.
Then came 2025, still in its infancy when we tasted, yet already giving clues of its potential. A wet spring brought early mildew pressure, but careful vineyard management paid off. Warm, steady weather in midsummer led to smaller yields but remarkable balance. “The good surprise,” Guillaume said, “was the harmony—the concentration and maturity with a nice acidity level. Despite the warm, dry season, we kept good tension.”
The 2025s in barrel are already showing great promise.
Even at this early stage, the 2025s showed promise: the estate Chardonnay largely from the Jolis Monts vineyard was precise and pure, while the Koosah blocks hinted at crystalline minerality. The Pinot Noirs, though just pressed into barrel, carried the perfume and tension of a poised vintage (Full tasting notes for the 2023 vintage are provided at the end of this article).
The Burgundian Thread
Large’s approach remains deeply rooted in his training in Burgundy. Daily tastings during fermentation, weekly checks once dry, and a meticulous eye on each barrel, his involvement is constant. Yet the goal is not control, but understanding. Native yeasts, minimal intervention, and restrained use of new oak allow each vineyard’s identity to emerge.
Koosah Vineyard.
The 2024 Koosah Chardonnay, from one of the estate’s highest-elevation sites at nearly 1,200 feet, showed precision and lift even in its youth, while the 2024 Découverte Chardonnay was more textured and expressive. The 2025 Découverte, made entirely with native yeast and no bâtonnage, already hinted at layered complexity. Only two Chardonnays—Découverte and Koosah—are bottled as single-vineyard expressions, while the Willamette Valley blend draws from several sites, mainly Jolie Monts, offering a snapshot of the region as a whole.
Among the Pinot Noirs, the differences were striking: Koosah was all red fruit and mineral edge; Découverte offered supple texture; and the Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir—from the estate’s original site in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA anchored the lineup with depth and poise.
Guilluame at the Fool’s Errand site.
The Fool’s Errand, a one-acre block of true massale sélection, remains a fascinating experiment, its heritage vines trained individually up each post, resulting in a distinctive viticultural project that showcases the diversity and character of the site. The inaugural vintage from The Fool’s Errand, harvested in 2023, is set for release in June 2026. Given its singular origins and the estate’s thoughtful approach, this wine is one to watch, promising to showcase the best of what the property can offer.
A Consistent Vision, Evolving Expression
What stands out most in tasting through these vintages isn’t just the technical precision—it’s the confidence of a project that knows exactly what it wants to be.
Resonance Estate Vineyard.
Résonance Wines continues to prove that scale doesn’t have to mean compromise. The wines retain individuality, purity, and a sense of place that deepens each year.
In a relatively short time, Résonance has become one of the most consistent and compelling estates in Oregon. With Guillaume Large at the helm, the conversation isn’t about whether a vintage was “great” or “challenging,” but how authentically it tells its story. And that, more than anything, is the hallmark of a truly mature winery.
Tasting Notes
2023 Résonance Willamette Valley Chardonnay
2023 Résonance Willamette Valley Chardonnay.
In 2023 there was enough fruit from their estate vineyards to fully supply the Willamette Valley bottling. Medium gold in colour, this is an intense wine showing lots of orchard fruit. We get apple and pear and a hint of peach. The oak is very well judged, adding texture but not flavour, sitting in the background and allowing the fruit to take centre stage. The are some nice floral hints that come out with a little exposure to air. Medium body with medium acidity, this is delicious now but will open up and add complexity with a bit of time in your cellar. This is terrific value at $40. This can truly stand toe to toe with other single vineyard bottlings in Oregon that sell for $60 to $80. Excellent
2023 Résonance Découverte Chardonnay
2023 Résonance Découverte Chardonnay.
This is another remarkable vintage for this wine. Only 2.5 acres of the Découverte Vineyard (Dundee Hills AVA) are planted to Chardonnay. The vineyard is east facing yet it produces wines that are ripe and full of character. Even more intensely flavoured than the Willamette Valley bottling, this wine showcases stone fruits of white peach, pear and lots of minerality. The body is medium+ and the acidity is medium and together they contribute to a mouthfeel that is seductive but framed with a racy acidity. This is a very strong vintage for Découverte, likely the best we have tasted. This is one to grab on release as it is likely to sell out very quickly. Excellent+
2023 Résonance Koosah Vineyard Chardonnay
2023 Résonance Koosah Vineyard Chardonnay,
The Koosah Vineyard is the most recent addition to the Résonance portfolio. Located in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA at its highest elevation, this is a steep vineyard composed of rocky soils. This is the second vintage of the Koosah Chardonnay and what a vintage it is! This a remarkably powerful wine with great intensity of fruit and a serious streak of minerality that brings to mind that scent of a fresh rain on a gravel road. Flavours of pear and green apple are joined by hints of citrus. The finish is mineral-infused and stays on your tongue for close to a minute. The balance between texture and acidity is just right and creates a near perfect mouthfeel. Already complex, this wine will no doubt develop further with a bit more time in the cellar. A remarkable achievement! Extraordinary
2023 Résonance Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
2023 Résonance Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.
Like its stablemate Chardonnay, the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir seriously over-delivers for the price point. Again, this is single vineyard quality at a very fair price. Like previous vintages, the 2023 leans in towards a slightly darker fruit expression of Pinot Noir. Medium to dark red in colour this offers notes of plum, black cherry along with secondary notes of earth and forest. The body is medium+ with medium tannin. The texture is round and inviting and the tannin has a slight grip to it and keeps the fruit balanced with just the right structure. A great wine to enjoy now while you wait for their single vineyard Pinots to further develop. Excellent+
2023 Résonance Koosah Vineyard Pinot Noir
2023 Résonance Koosah Vineyard Pinot Noir.
Good as the Willamette Valley Pinot was, each of the single vineyard cuvées were a step up. Starting with Koosah we get a lovely, elegant Pinot where the focus is on finesse and freshness of expression. Medium/light red, we get flavours of red cherry, raspberry and an earthy quality that adds a touch of rusticity to the wine. The texture is silky and is why Pinot lovers become Pinot lovers. On the finish we get spice notes, cracked pepper and a slight drying sensation from the youthful tannins. This wine will really sing after a few years in the cellar and I would think would add complexity over the next decade. Excellent+
2023 Résonance Découverte Vineyard Pinot Noir
The Dundee Hills always express their terroir with an earthy note that we find very charming. Medium red in colour this wine shows terrific balance and offers great intensity while remaining light on its feet. The earthy components speak to its place, augmented with added notes of underbrush and fall leaves that bring lots of complexity to the cherry and black cherry fruit profile. Medium+ body, this too is likely to have a long life in the cellar. Excellent+
2023 Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir
The stunning Memory Collection: Block 1, Block Four & Block 5.
Before we tasted this wine, Guillaume opened 3 special bottlings he made from special blocks within the Résonance Vineyard that were each made from a single Pinot Noir Clone. They were: Block 1 (Wadenswil clone), Block 4 (Dijon 777 clone), and Block 5 (Pommard clone). Same vintage, same winemaker, same vineyard, just different clones. It’s interesting to note the amount of difference clonal selection makes as well as to learn how each contributes their own attributes to the final blend. After we tasted those 3 we went to the final Résonance Vineyard selection for 2023. We thought the blend exceeded the sum of the parts. Here the profile is even darker, showing flavours of black cherry and plums with added nuance gained from the baking spice notes and the hints of dried flowers. A spectacular Pinot Noir again in this vintage! Extraordinary
2023 Résonance Fool’s Errand Pinot Noir
Fool’s Errand is a special new project that Guillaume created on just one acre of a special plot adjacent to the Résonance Vineyard. Surrounded by trees, the Fool’s Errand Vineyard is inspired by the various vineyards surrounded by stone walls in Burgundy that are known as “clos”. Fool’s Errand has its own unique trellis system and will be using many aspects of biodynamics in its farming. Planted on their own roots, the vines are random selection of plants from the Résonance Vineyard. 2023 is the first bottling of Fool’s Errand and even though the vines are still very young, they are showing what a special vineyard this is. Medium red in colour, this is a medium bodied wine with medium+ tannins. Red cherry, raspberry and plum notes combine baking spices and floral notes to make the most seductive aromas and flavours. This is classic Burgundian elegance. Terrific balance and great finesse. This vineyard is already on the path to greatness. Excellent+
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