Winemaker Notes
Named for the wind that defines the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, the Æolian Pinot Noir presents both purity and power; aromas of red cherry, rhubarb, and raspberry, tremendous tension through the mid palate, and delicate fine grain tannins through the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Pinot Noir AEolian has intense aromas of roasted cranberries, Cara Cara oranges and raspberries with continually blossoming accents of forest floor, mixed tea leaves and spice. Though it's light-bodied with finely astringent tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity, the palate offers highly concentrated, nuanced flavors and a very long, ultra spicy finish.
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James Suckling
A vivid, blue-fruited pinot with violet, lavender and dried citrus peel character. Juicy and blooming on the palate, with some chalkiness to its tannins and moderate weight. Flavorful and refreshing with a touch of crispy minerality.
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Wine Enthusiast
Beam this Aeolian life form up before it is all gone. The wine’s aromas of cherry icing and almonds suggest a baked good, while the wet slate note suggests a patio party. Bold tannins support tart pie-cherry and black-tea flavors, along with a trace of horehound.
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Wine Spectator
Deeply structured yet generous at the core, with plump raspberry fruit accented by sassafras, green tea and dusky spice notes. Drink now through 2032. 995 cases made.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.