Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
So much spice is the first impression here, this blended expression is well established as a powerful and complex style of pinot. Fresh red-cherry, potpourri, orange-peel, dried-flower, pomegranate and red and dark-cherry aromas, to name a few. The palate has such concentrated and layered style with dense red-cherry, blueberry and black-cherry flavors, delivered in a seamless build that holds so long. Impressive quality here. Drink or hold.
-
Decanter
A generous and poised Pinot Noir with lovely floral aromatics, subtle raspberry and wet earth notes, and finely expressed red fruits.
-
Wine Spectator
A deep, brooding Pinot that slowly unfolds with expressive black cherry, dusty mocha, clove and other spice flavors that fan out on the long, savory finish. Drink now.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Pinot Noir Evenstad Reserve has a medium ruby-purple color and dark, broody fruits on the nose, laced with classy notes of cardamom, tea leaves and chocolate. The palate is silky, seamlessly fresh and surprisingly layered, suggesting it will improve with some more time in the cellar.
Rating: 93+
-
Wine Enthusiast
Aromatically intriguing, this opens with an exotic mix of Asian spices. It's a lightly chocolatey, textured wine, with tart, firm blackberry fruit. Tannins are chewy and bring up more dark flavors of chocolate, licorice and black tea.
Ken and Grace Evenstad founded Domaine Serene Vineyards and Winery in 1989 when they purchased 42 acres of just-logged land in the Dundee Hills of Oregon and built a five-level, gravity flow winery to produce ultra-premium Pinot Noir. Today, Domaine Serene produces wines from six individual vineyard estates in the Willamette Valley planted exclusively to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Each estate offers a diversity of soils, clones, rootstocks, microclimates, slopes, and elevations that add distinguishing complexity and elegance to the wines.
The Evenstads now own over 1,000 acres, more than 360 of which are planted to vine in three AVAs of the Willamette Valley and are actively preserving Oregon White Oak trees and the biodiversity of the region. They have achieved LIVE certification, the highest certification in the world for sustainable viticulture. Domaine Serene’s wines have won many accolades and awards, including 200 wines scoring 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator. Their 2013 Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir was recognized as #3 Wine in the World, while the 2014 Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay received 95 points and was ranked the #2 Wine in the World according to Wine Spectator. Over the years, Domaine Serene has opened three Oregon Wine Lounges in Portland, Bend, and Lake Oswego that offer wine club members, locals, and visitors an elevated wine experience.
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.