Winemaker Notes
Pair with cheddar and other savory cheeses, rack of lamb, lasagna with bolognese or carbonara sauce, grilled vegetables, and potato-based soups.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Though the nose is relatively ripe with black cherry essence, vanilla and spices, the palate has real intensity and verve with a sweet-and-sour character, fine tannins, pretty acidity and a fruity finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a vineyard planted in 1982, the 2015 Pinot Noir Leland Vineyard is pale to medium ruby-purple and opens with notes of brown sugar over warm black cherries and blueberries plus tilled soil and wet leaves suggestions. Medium to full-bodied, it packs in the warm blackcurrants and cherries in the mouth, with layers of potpourri, tree bark and cardamom. It’s got a great firm frame of grainy tannins and very juicy acidity, finishing very long and very spicy.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Spectator
There's plenty of torque at the core of this wine, which offers brooding notes of tart blueberry and cherry, with accents of bay leaf and clove. Tannins tighten the finish. Best after 2018.
Erath wines are an expression of the land that the winery has cultivated for more than 40 years, longer than any other winery in the Dundee Hills of Region. One of Oregon’s wine pioneers, Erath winery’s founder, Dick Erath, was driven by the belief that the future of Pinot Noir was in Oregon. The Oregon Pinot legacy, spirit and vision of founder Dick Erath continues to evolve under acclaimed winemaker Leah Adint. The love of winemaking has taken her around the world, giving her unique experiences that she brings to her role as Winemaker at Erath Winery. She is dedicated to upholding the incredible legacy of Erath’s winemaking and will continue the vision of pushing the envelope of making different and special wines.
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.