Winemaker Notes
The 2016 King Estate Willamette Valley Pinot Noir has a dark garnet color with cherry red edges. The bouquet jumps out of the glass with ripe strawberries and raspberries with secondary notes of black tea, and earthen aromas. Rich dark cherries abound on the palate with fresh strawberry, sweet oak and vanilla flavors. This wine has a round and full mouthfeel upfront with supple tannins and a fresh, generous finish.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Wild red fruit and a fresh array of raspberries and cherries on the nose that lead to a fresh and juicy palate, packed with succulent fruit flesh. Nice, pure pinot here.
-
Wine Enthusiast
This is a sleek, subtle and savory wine. Tangy black raspberry and black cherry fruit is lifted with vivid, citrus acidity. Barrel aged for up to 10 months in French oak, it's a fine, early-drinking effort at a favorable price.
Editors' Choice
-
Wine & Spirits
Sturdy and broad, with a stout, caramelly foundation of oak, this takes a day to unfurl. With air, the fruit comes to the fore, the chewy black-plum flavors adorned with scents of redwood shavings and foresty tannins. Decant.
-
Wine Spectator
Sleek and well-built, with snappy cherry and blueberry flavors, accented by orange blossom and dusky spice notes, finishing with a slight nip of tannins. Best from 2020 through 2025.
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.