Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Cygnus Block shows typicity of vintage with a concentration of fruit, serious structure, and a youthful exuberance. Aromas of raspberry, red plum, orange blossom and fennel frond lead to a dense mid-palate of red brambles, orange zest and barrel spice, and a silky, savory finish. This wine has tremendous potential and we’re excited to watch (and taste!) as it develops.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Pinot Noir Cygnus Block offers tremendous aromatic definition and layering: bursts of lavender, bergamot and botanicals give way to a core of mixed berry preserves, and each return to the glass brings a new alluring fragrance. Its generosity is echoed on the palate, which is packed with floral fruit. It has a support of grainy tannins and mouthwatering acidity and a fantastically detailed, energetic finish. It's a beautiful Willamette Valley Pinot Noir that embodies power and grace.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Taking on a more high-toned personality, the 2019 Pinot Noir Cygnus Block is packed with coiled fruit of cranberry, cedar, orange peel, and baking spice. It is persistent and driving on the palate, driven by a core of acidity, with its tightly wrapped tannins adding to its angular and linear texture. It demands another year or two in bottle. Drink 2025-2035.
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James Suckling
A pinot with density and tension from the slightly rough tannins now, but this medium to full-bodied wine will come together nicely with some bottle age. Try after 2023.
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromas provide appeal, with notes of dried cherry, cinnamon stick and anise, mixing fruit and barrel. Tart, medium-bodied flavors follow. Give it time in the bottle or decant to see it at its best. The stuffing is there.
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.