Winemaker Notes
2017 was another in a string of growing seasons with warm summers. Fortunately, at the end they had a bit of a cool down which helped preserve acidity and structure. Unlike in 2016 the cooling spell lasted around three weeks. The resulting wines are significantly more focused than the 2016’s and show very nice structure and ageability, with a core of ripe, plump fruit.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A pleasantly rich and complex style with plenty of spice, set across ripe, red to dark fruit. The palate has a very succulent core of fine tannin and a smoothly integrated delivery of bright, round cherries. Drink now.
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.