Winemaker Notes
Each vineyard block is fermented separately in small batches with native yeasts before resting in French oak barrels for 10 months. Each spring, Winemaker Bryan Weil selects individual barrels from each vineyard block to create a beautifully expressive and balanced version of ‘Willamette Valley’ Pinot Noir.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Attractive, ripe, red-fruited character with candied orange peel, red licorice and hints of smoked herbs. Medium-bodied, spiced and juicy on the palate with hints of bitter chocolate and citrus peel at the end. Drink or hold.
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.