Winemaker Notes
The color is high tone garnet. The nose is super effusive cherry, hibiscus, grilled meat, tan spice and cracked pepper. The flavors are massive and present as a cherry and peach pie with a one-minute too brown crust. The structure is quietly lurking, but unobtrusive. Ultimately it’s a powerful mouthful that begs the question drinkable, eatable or slurpable? Get a fork or, perhaps, a soup spoon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A very complex and earthy pinot with sophisticated, layered, spicy and earthy complexity, across ripe red cherries and blueberries. The palate has a superbly plush, elegantly structured yet richly flavored feel. So silky. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Lithe and savory, with refined raspberry, smoky underbrush and orange peel notes that build tension toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2027.
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.