Winemaker Notes
Aromatically the wine jumps from the glass with raspberry cobbler, fresh cherries, rose petals, as well as an underlying aroma of brambly berry fruits. On the palate, the wine is heavily influenced by cherry, a hint of baking spice, and bright acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Elegant, refined, and long, the 2021 Pinot Noir Tualatin Estate Vineyard pours a medium ruby hue and is lifted and pure, with notes of blood orange, dusty earth, bright raspberry fruit, and fresh flowers. Medium-bodied and refined, with an elegant tannin structure, it has wonderful density of fruit but remains weightless, with a linear feel and a touch of dried porcini on the finish. It’s a beautiful wine with great length to drink over the next 10-15 years.
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Wine Spectator
Precise and sleekly structured, with vibrant flavors of cherry and cranberry, offering forest floor and savory tea accents as this red speeds toward the crisp and lively finish. Drink now through 2032.
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James Suckling
A medium-bodied red with aromas of cherries, oregano, wafers and baking spices. Quite intense on the mid-palate with a spicy touch and a crisp, succulent finish with persistence.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of aged balsamic, blackberries, anise and violets would make a fine topping for a microgreens salad. The wine’s tart blackcap raspberry and earthy oregano flavors are counterpointed by a touch of sweet caramel. Modest tannins and velvety tannins are equally matched.
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.