Winemaker Notes
The Rocheux is sourced from the rockiest portion of the estate vineyard, an area high in content of broken volcanic basalt. Warm evenings and cool nights provide balance, resulting in depth with crisp acidity, and an underlying mineral structure.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Shimmering magenta. An incisive bouquet evokes ripe red fruits, candied rose, vanilla and Asian spices, and a smoky mineral overtone gains strength with air. Juicy and seamless on the palate, offering alluringly sweet, mineral-laced raspberry, mulberry, floral pastille and spicecake flavors and a touch of succulent herbs. Delivers a suave blend of power and finesse and finishes very long and smooth, with subtle tannins and repeating florality.
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James Suckling
This has a complex, oak-infused nose with plenty of espresso and spice aromas, as well as orange peel and dried roses. Sappy edge, too. The palate delivers a very assertive, structured and concentrated core of firm, attractively powerful tannin. Give this time. Try from 2024.
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.