Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Pinot Noir Luxuria opens in the glass with a hauntingly dark and perfumed bouquet as stone dust and lavender pastille give way to rose petals and dried black cherries. A lovely inner sweetness and enveloping texture of pure silk emerge as polished red berry fruits swirl and an array of exotic spices cascade throughout. Tension resonates in the 2022, with fine tannins framing tart blackberry and a nuance of licorice. Just a baby today, this does not just deserve further cellaring—it demands it.
Rating: 94+
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James Suckling
Deliciously complex in spices, tea and fresh fruit, this full-bodied red feels big and smooth in texture. Red and black tea, baked cherries, sour cherries and a touch of rhubarb give plenty to savor.
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.