Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
I like the nose. Ripe fruit, plums, a little bit of spice. Soft, meaty, juicy tannins. And some nice acidity too. I really like the fruit and the balance. Will be amazing with steak.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Pinot Noir Yamhill Cuvee is medium ruby in color with an expressive nose of spicy red fruits and considerable terroir character. On the palate the fruit leans to the dark side of the spectrum with intense black cherry and black raspberry flavors as well as excellent grip, balance, and length. This tasty effort can be enjoyed now but has the stuffing to evolve for 2-3 years.
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Wine Spectator
Pure and focused aromatically, with blueberry, plum, spice and loam aromas leaping from the glass. The firm tannins have bite, but the complex flavors shoot through on the lively finish. Shows depth and grace. Best from 2013 through 2018.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
We have commented before on the virtues of the 2008 vintage with regard to Oregon Pinots, and this pert, keenly focused effort shows off the extra measure of fruit that marks the harvest. Firm, but fleshy with constant themes of ripe cherries from front to back, it stays true to the structured North-western model and looks ready to reward another four or five years in the cellar.
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.