Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Beaux Frères is one of the earliest and now leading wineries in Oregon, founded by Michael G. Etzel, and brother-in-law (“Beaux Frères” in French) wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr in 1986. Located on an 88-acre farm, Beaux Frères resides on the most prestigious terroirs of Willamette Valley. Since their first vintage in 1991, the Beaux Frères philosophy remains the same; to produce a world-class Pinot Noir from small, well-balanced yields and ripe, healthy fruit that represent the essence of the vineyard. Beaux Frères has had biodynamic and organic practices since 2002.
In 2017, Maisons & Domaines Henriot embarked on a partnership with Michael Etzel acquiring Beaux Frères.
In the summer of 1986, my young family and I began on a journey that, in our wildest optimism, never thought Beaux Frères and our Oregon wine industry would be on the center stage with the fine wine industry. I believe our success is a lesson for anyone with a dream: follow your heart. – Michael G. Etzel, Founder and CEO
Yamhill-Carlton, characterized by pastoral, rolling hills composed of shallow, quick-draining, ancient marine soil, is ideal for Pinot noir and other cool-climate-loving varieties. It is in the rain shadow of the Coast Range to its west, whose highest point climbs to an altitude of 3,500 feet. Yamhill-Carlton is actually surrounded by mountains on three sides: Chehalem Mountains to the north, the Dundee Hills to the east and the western Coast Range to its west, which, when it lets Pacific air through, serves to cool the region.
Vineyards grow on the ridges surrounding the two small communities of Yamhill and Carlton and cover about 1,200 acres of this 60,000 acre region, which roughly makes a horse-shoe shape on a map.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”