Winemaker Notes
Produced from the single vineyard block of original, own-roots vines planted by Willamette Valley wine pioneer Dick Erath in 1968 on the westernmost edge of the Chehalem Mountain AVA, adjacent to Ribbon Ridge. A jewel of Willamette Valley heritage.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Hibiscus and dried strawberries with some orange peel and lemongrass. It’s medium-bodied with creamy tannins and a lightly chewy finish. Hints of cedar. Classy. Young but very well done. Give it a year or two, but why wait? Sourced from vines planted by Dick Erath in 1968.
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Vinous
The 2023 Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountain is impossible to ignore, with a vividly fresh bouquet of mint, a zest of citrus and sweet smoke complementing bright strawberry and rose tones. Silky textures blend with cooling acidity and a solid core of ripe red and hints of blue fruit, as mineral underpinnings pinch at the palate. Crunchy tannins add chewy depth through the finish, while the 2023 leaves a cascade of inner florals and a subtle citrus flourish. I love the balance here today, but the best is yet to come.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountain has intense aromas of blackberry, black cherry, tobacco, damp earth and moss. The medium-bodied palate is bursting with spicy, earth-laced flavors. It’s structured by refined, grainy tannins and bright acidity and has a long, layered finish.
Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. As a leader in environmental stewardship, the valley has some of the nation’s most protective land use policies, with two-thirds of its vineyards farmed sustainably and over half, organically. While the valley claims a cool, continental climate, and is heavily influenced by the cold, moist winds of the Pacific Ocean, its warm and dry summers allow for the steady, even ripening of Pinot noir.
The potential of Willamette Valley Pinot noir continues to attract the investment of serious growers and winemakers both locally and from abroad, as naturally the finished wines bring accolades from professionals and enthusiasts. With a range of styles from delicate dried cherry, raspberry and hibiscus to stronger notes of truffle, mocha, plum and spice, a fine Willamette Valley Pinot noir is a perfect expression of both character and grace.