Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Shows an earthy edge, but the vivid cherry and black tea flavors remain vibrant as they flow against a modest burr of tannins on the long, deftly balanced finish. Drink now through 2017.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Pinot Noir Reserve is a more expressive, structured effort, darker in color with aromas of violets, incense, cinnamon, black cherry, and black raspberry. Richer and more structured than the Willamette Valley cuvee, it will evolve for 2-3 years and offer prime drinking from 2012 to 2019.
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.