Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Estate Reserve comes from the 35-acre Solena Winery vineyard that Eugenia told me tends to provide very small berries. This vintage was matured in 40% new oak, nearly everything destemmed. It has an expressive bouquet laden with dark cherries, briary and wilted violet aromas that unfurl in the glass while maintaining great delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very well-judged acidity, silky smooth in texture dovetailing into a plush and elegant, caressing finish. This was one of the picks from the vintage.
-
Wine Spectator
A fresh and expressive Pinot, layered with blackberry, cherry, floral and savory spice flavors on an open-textured frame. Dances lightly as the finish lingers harmoniously. Drink now through 2020.
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.