Bethel Heights Casteel Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 Front Label
Bethel Heights Casteel Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 Front Label

Winemaker Notes

As a general rule a large crop usually means a bit less concentration in the wines, but 2006 was an exception. Mother Nature provided the extra heat and light necessary to ripen a larger crop, and there was plenty of moisture in the soil at the beginning of the season to carry it through. Unlike 2003, another exceptionally warm vintage, in 2006 all the heat came in early to mid-summer. Since the heat came before color change, rather than at the end of the season as it did in 2003, the grapes actually ripened in relatively cool conditions and therefore have more expressive fruit and more freshness than one might expect from a hot vintage. There was no rain to threaten the integrity of the fruit before the harvest.

Professional Ratings

    Bethel Heights

    Bethel Heights

    View all products
    Image for  content section
    View all products
    Image for Willamette Valley Pinot Noir content section
    View all products

    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.

    PBC5220645_2006 Item# 98994