Winemaker Notes
The wine offers a captivating bouquet, filled with beautiful scents of violet and rose intertwined with hints of Asian spice, dusty cocoa, and the subtle allure of cedar and oak. On the palate, it unfolds with abundant flavors reminiscent of blackberry pie and bramble, complemented by toasty notes, cedar, and the delicate essence of vanilla bean, all supported by fine-grained tannins. Layers of red and black cherry add depth and complexity, leading to a lingering finish that showcases its impressive length.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
These mature, own-rooted vines are the genesis of something special. The wine’s red cherry and sage aromas are joined by a meaty wisp of pulled pork. Flavors like ripe Bing cherries, earthy oregano and black tea seem to pop, thanks to zippy acidity and a taut, crisp texture. The Coury Clone spent nine months in French oak, 25% new.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Pinot Noir Old Vine Coury is a classy and elegantly detailed wine, with notes of wild strawberries, fresh herbs, roses, and dusty earth. It’s medium-bodied, with refined tannins, balanced acidity, and a floating, even finish.
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James Suckling
Juicy and savory pinot with a medium body and fine tannins. Focused and racy, with notes of dark cherries, raspberries, spices and hints of chocolate. Tense and vibrant with attractive zesty notes at the end.
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Wine Spectator
Spry and lively, with zesty raspberry and pomegranate flavors accented by cardamom and crushed stone tones as this zips along the snappy finish. Drink now through 2032. 1,600 cases made.
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.”
Stretching southwest from the city of McMinnville, the AVA with the same name covers about 40,000 acres across 20 miles until it meets the Van Duzer Corridor. This corridor is the only break in the Coast Range whose gap allows the cool Pacific Ocean air to flow eastward into the Willamette Valley.
The Pacific's moderating winds hit McMinnville’s south and southeast facing slopes where cool-climate varieties—namely Pinot noir and Pinot blanc thrive on ridges at between 200 to 1,000 feet in elevation.
Soils here are primarily uplifted marine sedimentary loam and silt, with alluvial formations; McMinnville receives less rainfall than its neighbors to the east because it is situated in the rain shadow of the Coast Range.