Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The medium ruby-colored 2009 Antica Terra proffers an alluring bouquet of smoke, rose petal, cherry, raspberry, and incense. Velvety-textured, ripe, and elegant on the palate, it reveals a laser focus and considerably more grip and concentration than is typical for this vintage. This lengthy effort can be approached now but will evolve for 1-2 years and provide enjoyment through 2019.
In just a few years, Maggie Harrison has managed to place Antica Terra on my short list of Willamette Valley’s finest producers. The estate owns 11 acres of vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA and leases an 8 acre parcel from Shea Vineyards in Yamhill-Carlton.
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.