Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
The 2013 Flood derives from the Willamette Valley’s ocean-influenced, sedimentary soils. Quiet and firm at the outset, it develops with air, taking on a dark-cherry scent and a tarry depth of flavor. It’s not until it’s been open for two days that the fruit brightens into strawberry accents, becoming fleshy and mouthfilling in its ripeness. This needs time in the bottle to knit; then serve with duck breast.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh and expressive, with an earthy note providing bass to the soprano character of the raspberry and cherry. Comes together smoothly against nubby tannins on the finish. Drink now through 2019.
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.