Antica Terra Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2009 Front Label
Antica Terra Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2009 Front Label

Winemaker Notes

In 2008 the arrangement of this wine was almost identical to Botanica. The two wines were distinct, but they were playing in the same key. This year, the differences between the two are dramatic. Botanica is lavishly red fruited and dramatically rich. Its complexity comes more from ethereal floral tendencies than from mineral and earth. Antica Terra displays the richness of the vintage, but it is paler, detailed and more concise. Its flavors are from the forest: small wild berries, chanterelles, yellow leaves. This wine includes more fruit from our estate and two extreme sites closer to the coast. In 2009 the stems from these sites ripened to become russet, dense and woody. The impressions of spice, woodlands and autumn come from this.

Professional Ratings

  • 93
    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.

Antica Terra

Antica Terra

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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.

EWLORANTPWB09_2009 Item# 113347