Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Pinot Noir Gestalt Block was picked on 25 September and matured for 12 months in 35% French oak. There is plenty of damp moss/sous-bois infusing the black fruit here - wonderful definition and focus, an appealing herbal edge emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, well-judged acidity, grippy in the mouth with a briny finish that evokes images of a windswept wintry sea. What a sophisticated and compelling Pinot Noir, a sensorial delight, but at the same time intellectual. This comes highly recommended.
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James Suckling
Some stem and fresh herbs in combination with raspberry aromas follow through to a medium body, firm tannins and a crisp finish. A little lean.
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.