Winemaker Notes
Crafted from the rocky Western slope of our estate vineyard, the 2021 Le Cadeau Rocheux Pinot Noir is a beautiful expression of the Pommard and Dijon 777 clones originally planted in 1999. The Rocheux blocks receive the heat of the sunset balanced with a crisp cool night breeze, resulting in rich mineral-driven fruit that maintains perfect acidity.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
I like the savory undertones of thyme and olives to the red and orange berry fruit. Stony and earthy minerality, too. Silky and ethereal, with very fine tannins and a lingering cool freshness. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2021 Pinot Noir Rocheux entices with its sweet violet florals and suggestions of dusty stone, giving way to vivid citrus-kissed blackberry fruit. This is lifted and finessed, still potent and silky smooth, yet with finer lines and tenacity, showing sleek red berries and hints of sour citrus. The 2021 youthfully folds in upon itself through the finish, leaving a savory spiciness and nuanced tannins to slowly fade.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Red raspberries lead a roller coaster ride of aromas that include wet stone, sage, lavender and lemonade. A darker boysenberry and blackberry fruit combination joins flavors like aged balsamic vinegar and agave. Brilliant acidity steers the ship, along with an assist from silky tannins.
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Wine Spectator
Handsomely structured, with appealing forest floor undertones framed by cherry, guava and savory spice notes, this finishes with medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2032.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
The Chehalem Mountains is a northwest-southeast span of several distinct mountains, ridges and peaks in the northern part of the Willamette Valley. Of all of Willamette Valley's smaller AVAs, it is closest to the city of Portland. Its highest summit, Bald Peak at an elevation of 1,633 feet, serves to generate cooler air for the rest of the AVA and its hillside vineyards. The region covers 70,000 acres but only 1,600 acres are planted to vines; soils of the Chehalem Mountains are a mix of basalt, ocean sediment and loess.