Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Delicate aromas of strawberry and citrus with hints of stone and spice. Medium body, firm and silky. Subtle and refined. I like the attractive leanness to the wine. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Last Chapter comes from Hyland, Shea, Stardance (great name - this is an isolated vineyard with particular indigenous yeasts) and Tresori vineyards matured in 60% new French oak for 12 months. The bouquet is very harmonious and complex, a melange of red and black fruit, quite floral with iris and violet aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine line of acidity, elegant in the mouth, but perhaps just needing a little more weight to come through on the finish. Still, this is a very well-crafted, sensual Pinot Noir.
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Wine & Spirits
What this wine lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in its purity, freshness and mouthwatering buoyancy. Scents of smoke and toast give way to a plush robe of black cherry flavor, juicy, persistent and satisfying.
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.