Soter Vineyards Mineral Springs Ranch Pinot Noir 2012
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Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
An engaging, seductive nose suggests black cherry, bing cherry, dried cranberry, spice and rose petals, with a hint of anise. Entry on the palate is silky for a wine that quickly displays an uncommon level of generosity – it fairly explodes on the mid palate, with noteworthy extract. The anise notes suggested in its aromatics expand to include fennel and red licorice, quite exotic. Lots of spice box notes and some white pepper appear, with scorched earth, dried beef and dark roasted coffee notes. The wine finishes with real intensity, revealing slate and mineral tones, on a frame that is both lush and structured, without being heavy or sacrificing balance. This is a rich wine in the historical "MSR" lineage, with real power, but is a pure Pinot Noir beauty in the end. There are some structural bones here that promise a long, exciting evolution ahead for those who have some patience to lay this wine down in their cellars, though it will be difficult due its early, showy nature!
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant, expressive and multi layered, offering black cherry, red plum, sassafras and dead leaf flavors on a long and silky frame. The tannins are submerged, allowing the gorgeous flavors to float through the finish. Drink now through 2022.
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James Suckling
Aromas of ripe strawberries and violets follow through to a full body that shows very fine and velvety tannins. Full, flavorful, velvety and compacted — yet so beautiful. Needs time to open still. Superb texture. Better in 2019.
Other Vintages
2019-
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Robert
Parker
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James
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James
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James
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James
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James
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Robert
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James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker
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James
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
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Spectator
Tony Soter is the founder of Soter Vineyards at Mineral Springs Ranch in Yamhill-Carlton, Oregon. Soter is a Portland, Oregon, native who began his remarkable 40-year winemaking career in the Napa Valley. After graduating from Pomona College in southern California with a degree in philosophy, Soter joined the staff at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in 1975 to learn the trade. By 1982, he released his own wine under the Etude label, selling the winery almost 20 years later to Treasury Wine Estates. In the meantime, Soter worked as consulting winemaker for such world-famous Napa estates as Araujo (now Eisele), Chappellet, Dalla Valle, Shafer, and Spottswoode, among others. After almost 30 years in California, Soter moved back to Oregon and founded Soter Vineyards in 1997, where he is still making some of the most heralded pinot noirs in the state.
Today, Soter focuses on biodynamic grape growing to create rich flavors and substance. His cellar techniques look to the wisdom of past generations, trusting those natural processes to evoke the voice and character of each vineyard.
There are three distinct labels produced by Soter:
1. SOTER VINEYARDS ... Illustrious estate-grown wines from Eola Amity, Ribbon Ridge, and Yamhill Carlton (where the Mineral Springs vineyard, farm, and winery are).
2. ORIGIN SERIES ... Limited single-appellation bottlings showcasing each AVA's unique microclimate, geographical features, and growing conditions.
3. PLANET OREGON ... affordable, delicious, organically-grown wines from the Willamette Valley, ready to drink tonight.
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.