Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Named for the windy corridor that gives the estate fruit its grip and concentration, this packs its black cherry and cassis flavors with compelling highlights. Pepper, cedar and sandalwood accents linger and penetrate the core of dark fruit.
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Wine Spectator
Well-knit and refined, with floral raspberry, crushed rock and spice flavors that build presence and richness on the finish. Drink now through 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend from a small section of the property, the 2015 Pinot Noir AEolian is scented of black raspberries, red currants and red roses with hints of dried Provence herbs, black pepper and sandalwood plus a hint of bark. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-filling red berry and earthy flavors with a frame of chewy tannins and lively acidity, finishing with herbal nuances.
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.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.