Winemaker Notes
The nose jumps out of the glass with concentrated aromas of plum, violet and berries. That lift and concentration carries through as the mixed berries become even more concentrated, while beautifully balanced bright acidity leads to moderate tannins on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Pouring a slightly deeper, youthful ruby color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Le Puits Sec opens to notes of grenadine, fresh violets, wet stones, and mossy earth. It has a more rounded and supple texture, with ripe, plush tannins, balanced acidity, and a darker saltiness but a gently tapering feel through the finish.
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Vinous
The 2022 Pinot Noir Le Puits Sec is delicate and nuanced in the glass, slowly evolving with a hint of crushed blackberry, sage and dusty stone. Built on purity, it offers rosy inner florals and fresh acidity that propel its perfumed wild berry fruit across the palate. The long, staining finish reveals a framework of fine tannins that add youthful poise. Rating: 94+
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James Suckling
Ripe red berries on the nose, together with dried herbs and hints of citrus peel, dried flowers and savory nuances. Focused and balanced with medium body and lively acidity. Supple and textured in the mouth, with a delicate finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Pinot Noir Le Puits Sec comes mainly from own-rooted Pommard vines planted in 1986. Matured for 21 months in 15% new French oak, it takes plenty of coaxing to reveal scents of pomegranate, spice and floral hints. The medium-bodied palate offers a core of red fruit structured by chalky tannins and juicy acidity, and it has a soft, spicy finish.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.