Winemaker Notes
He lived his life as though every day was a Red-Letter Day and we hope that you will too! Cheers!
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Christened in honor of the winery’s tenth anniversary and the memory of its founder, the 2008 Pinot Noir Red Letter was sourced from the (since 2009) estate vineyard, WillaKenzie, and Momtazi, with each of whose evolution in biodynamic viticulture Jimi Brooks had a close association. Happily, I can report that it’s a wine that delivers on the promise of its name and its fine sources. Ripe, lightly-cooked purple plum and black raspberry mingle on the nose with hints of bacon fat as well as intimations of roasted red meats; all of these then emerge on a silken-textured palate transformed into a sappy, for the vintage surprisingly bright evocation of berry concentrates, mingled with mouthwatering, marrowy, multi-boned meat stock. Notes of piquant fruit pit; toasty nut oils; and a pungent, attractively green and piquant suggestion of lentil sprouts all add to the saliva-liberating, long-lasting savor of this beauty’s finish. Expect this to be well worth following for at least another half dozen years.
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Wine Spectator
Broad, spicy and airy in texture, with lightly prickly tannins around a core of cherry, wet earth, mint and spice flavors that float serenely through a long and expressive finish. Perfectly reflective of the vintage. Drink now through 2020.
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.