Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Pretty, delicate and fresh-tasting, offering light red fruit, subtle oak spices and a light, lively texture. Well-balanced by subtle acidity and mild tannins for a clean, appetizing expression.
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Wine Spectator
Brooding and deeply structured, with flavors of dark berries, forest floor and black tea building richness and tension toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2032. 1,800 cases made.
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Vinous
The 2022 Pinot Noir Juel slowly evolves, opening with a dark mix of sour cherries, cloves and nuances of rosemary. Juicy textures and a core of savory wild berry fruits splash across the palate, taking on a spicy tinge toward the close. The finish tapers off a bit short, leaving violet inner florals and a bitter hint of blackberry. Through it all, I find myself craving more depth and vigor.
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.