Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Just his two best barrels (one new, one once-used) from dry-farmed Pommard Selection fruit in a block shared with Ponzi informed Prosser’s 2011 Pinot Noir Gemini Vineyard. Strikingly scented with saffron and sea breeze as well as more predictable fresh cherry, this combines infectious juiciness and a saliva-drawing saline tang on a lean yet polished palate, leading to a mouthwatering, mineral-charged and almost viscerally stimulating finish. It’s going to be exciting stuff to follow for at least the next decade, and in light of my early impression, I was surprised to hear Prosser claim, "Pinot from this vineyard is always especially shy after you assemble and bottle it and needs time in bottle to show its personality." I can, however, understand why he says that personality is one of considerable power, something he attributes in significant part to this site’s Laurelwood soil.
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.