Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 The Fire Fire+Flood, from volcanic soils cropped at two to three tons per acre and matured in 40% new French oak for 12 months has more red fruit than the 2014 Flood - redcurrant, Morello and crushed strawberry coming through with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, supple tannin. There is a little more acidity here that imparts more tension, while it has the same salinity as the Flood on the finish. This is an excellent and quite sophisticated Pinot Noir that is my pick from Chapter 24's three contributions to the 2014 vintage.
-
Wine & Spirits
Chapter 24’s blend from volcanic soils, this vintage of The Fire is generous and warm, with a scent of brown spices and cherry compote. The flavors are a bit more oak-driven compared to the 2013, given to cinnamon and cocoa flavors, which lend weight but also weigh the wine down a bit. Cellar for six months or more to let the oak and fruit integrate.
-
Wine Spectator
Taut and crisp, with juicy, pear-accented blackberry and cherry flavors on a sleek frame. Finishes expressively, wrapped with powdery tannins. 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.