Winemaker Notes
The goal behind Johan Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir is to make a wine that is representative of the entire farm as a whole. The winery achieves this by selecting small parcels of fruit from every combination of rootstock/scion, slope, soil profile, and vine age on the property. They keep all lots separate through vinification and aging to evaluate and learn how each parcel performs over the different vintages. They then bring them together for a harmonious blend in the bottle, full of nuance and complexity. This bottling is always the most representative of the growing year and is the most accurate representation of Johan Vineyards' true terroir.
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.