Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
There is a wealth of dried lavender on the nose of this pinot noir as well as herbs, vanilla and red plums. The palate is nicely fresh but with plenty of red apple fruit, grainy tannins and a fruity, chewy finish. Drink in 2020.
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Wine Spectator
xpressive black cherry and forest floor aromas open to refined and balanced dark raspberry, bitter chocolate and spice flavors that finish with minerally tannins. Drink now through 2023.
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.