Winemaker Notes
There is a distinct purity to the aromas of this wine—clear notes of blood orange, crushed cinnamon, and cedar bark rise out of the glass. The palate is graceful and flowing, and speaks to the long-lived nature of this wine.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A medium ruby hue, the 2021 Pinot Noir Boulder Bluff Vineyard offers up more primary notes initially on opening with aromas of pressed violets, red berries, and wet stones. Medium-bodied with good structure, it has ripe tannins, crunchy acidity, and fresh fruit throughout the palate. It will do well to cellar this another couple of years and drink 2025-2035.
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James Suckling
Aromas of dark fruit, Earl Gray tea and some earthy notes. A medium- to full-bodied palate opens up to red fruit and a hint of anise. Good balance and integrated tannins. Long, sultry and tense finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
The Boulder Bluff is still wound a little tight, with muscular tannins dominating the scene. A dusty roadside wild blackberry aroma is joined by a saline note reminiscent of pan-seared scallops drizzled in lemon juice. Dark raspberry and cherry flavors hold court on the palate, along with a note of black tea with a lemon wedge. Enjoy 2024-2034.
Cellar Selection
Established in 1971, Adelsheim is a family-owned and operated winery with estate vineyards located in Oregon's northern Willamette Valley. Over the past 41 years, the Adelsheim Vineyard estate has grown to include twelve exception vineyard sites throughout the Valley, totaling 237 acres. Company co-founder, David Adelsheim, has done work throughout the years to benefit both the Oregon and American wine industries: grape and wine research, wine labeling, industry education, and promotion. He is recognized for his "outstanding service" to the industry and has played a vital role in building the Oregon wine industry and establishing its reputation worldwide. Today, he leads a current generation of passionate staff devoted to leading the industry in crafting consistently transcendent wines.
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.”
The Chehalem Mountains is a northwest-southeast span of several distinct mountains, ridges and peaks in the northern part of the Willamette Valley. Of all of Willamette Valley's smaller AVAs, it is closest to the city of Portland. Its highest summit, Bald Peak at an elevation of 1,633 feet, serves to generate cooler air for the rest of the AVA and its hillside vineyards. The region covers 70,000 acres but only 1,600 acres are planted to vines; soils of the Chehalem Mountains are a mix of basalt, ocean sediment and loess.