Winemaker Notes
Beautiful bright color. Rhubarb and wild cherry, earthy, cinnamon, and nutmeg spices and bright red fruits. Cherry gelatin in the package, roasted red beets and spring strawberries.
The spice comes through first thing in the mouth; cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom followed by fresh red fruits, more red cherry in the mouth, with rhubarb, orange peel, and strawberry. While the wine is lighter bodied, it fills out on the finish with acid and structure and a lingering note of earth, cranberry and dried spices. A beautiful wine, with freshness, vibrancy and structure all in one mouthful.
This would work well with seared foie over a cherry gastric, or classic Peking duck or pork tenderloin.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: How much power can we take in our Pinot Noirs? The 2015 Brooks Rastaban is a powerful wine, fortunately, it stays appealing and balanced. TASTING NOTES: This wine is not for those wanting lightweight Pinot Noirs. Its aromas and flavors of bold black fruit and generous oak should pair it supremely with a grilled ribeye. (Tasted: September 25, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
This estate reserve is produced from biodynamic grapes. It's sweet and spicy, with concentrated raspberry fruit, baking spice and hints of toasted coconut. A touch riper than the previous vintage, it's already drinking well.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.