Winemaker Notes
This year’s Haden Fig Willamette Valley is comprised of near equal parts of Cancilla, Croft and Freedom Hill, along with a minor share from our Torres Hill vineyard located just outside of Dallas, OR. The vintage produced well-structured, bass-toned wines from these mostly sedimentary sites. Blackberry liquor, fresh Italian plums, hibiscus, and black raspberry rest atop antique cabinets, and black tea.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of bright berries, red sandstone and crushed rose petals. A burst of fruit on the palate, with rich, plush and inviting flavors of raspberries, plums and red figs. Light- to medium-bodied, delicious and a good value.
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.