Winemaker Notes
In typical fashion, the 2017 Gestalt Block Pinot noir fully expresses the savory side of Brittan Vineyards. Tobacco, pea shoots, five-spice, licorice, gunpowder and flint show up alongside rich black plum, blackberry, dark cherry and black currant. This is a phenolic, tannin-driven wine with a long, complex and savory finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a warmer growing season, the 2017 Pinot Noir Gestalt Block was matured for 12 months in 27% new French oak. It has a medium ruby-garnet color and layered aromas of red and black plum, shiitake mushroom, sun-dried tomato and earth. The medium-bodied palate maintains a concentrated core of fruit and is beginning to reveal complex tertiary character. It’s framed by gently chewy tannins and bright acidity and has a long, layered finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
All of Robert Brittan's 2017 Pinots are finished at lower alcohol levels than the previous vintage, but remain balanced and ripened appropriately. This is full flavored, with raspberry and black-cherry fruit, juicy acids, and hints of mushroom and earth. It's a bit high-toned, with subtle volatility that will only be obvious to those quite sensitive to it. But the overall concentration and length power it beautifully.
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.