Winemaker Notes
Claudia's Choice is named for Broadley Vineyard's co-founder Claudia Broadley. This beautiful & complex pinot noir is produced from an old vine section of our vineyard in Monroe planted in Pommard & Wadenswil clones. The Claudia's Choice always greets you with notes of Raspberry and "cherry cola" and finishes with "polished tannins" & spice. These vines usually ripen a bit later and often set smaller clusters. The Claudia’s Choice wines are not meant to be fruit forward—we want to display the big, dark, and complex character that typifies our Claudia’s Choice release.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This mix of Pommard and Wadenswil clones was fermented with wild yeast, 40% whole clusters and aged in 30% new French oak. It’s a complex, sophisticated wine, powerfully built with black cherry fruit, whiffs of wood smoke and a streak of Dr Pepper. The tannins continue the highlighting of dark fruits and barrel toast, finishing with a seam of espresso.
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.