Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Taking no prisoners and sparing no one's feelings, Bethel Heights has been at the forefront of Oregon Pinot Noirs for as long as anyone can remember. The 2012 Aeolian is juicy and fine; blueberries? Yes, maybe, but certainly lots of fruit. Of course, this is a superb vintage and the wine is reflective of that! Let's dial up a plate of lightly grilled salmon.
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Wine & Spirits
Dark, youthful and vinous, this bracing pinot is true to its name, bearing the mark of the winds that buffet the Bethel Heights estate. The flavors are forward, pure purple plum and black cherry girded by a wind-bitten firmness that registers as mineral and deep. Decant for duck with cherry sauce. (2,930 cases)
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Wine Spectator
Soft in texture and expressive, with glints of green olive and gently herbal aromatics surrounding a supple core of dark berry and kirsch. Finishes gently. Drink now through 2019. 2,390 cases made.
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.