Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Chapter 24’s Last Chapter used to be a blend of fruit from sedimentary soils and volcanic soils. This vintage reflects Chapter 24’s new exploration of basalt permutations, focusing on fruit grown on very rocky basalt sites, according to owner Mark Tarlov. When first poured, its varied spice brings to mind dancers doing warm-ups—each individually impressive, if not in harmony. Then the dance begins, and the beauty of the wine is in watching it harmonize. The spice notes move from a background fuzz of herbs to something fine-ground and precise; the fruit loses its jitteriness and becomes round and generous while retaining a pleasant tension. It feels confident and poised.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Last Chapter is a bit reduced to begin, giving way to ripe black cherries and blackcurrant liqueur notes over a savory/meaty core, with tilled black earth, floral perfume and exotic spice hints. The palate explodes with ripe black fruits: black cherry, blackcurrant and baked plum with layers of smoked meat, perfume and spice, with firm, structuring tannins and tons of freshness lifting the amazingly long, savory, mouthwatering finish. Wow! Hide this away for 3-5 years before opening.
Rating: 94+? -
Wine Spectator
A gangly youth at the moment, this is plump with rich black cherry, pomegranate and spiced clover flavors that persist toward spry tannins. Best from 2020 through 2025. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.
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.