Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A ripe ruby hue, the 2021 Pinot Noir Avni has a pure and pristine character, with aromas of red cherry lozenge, fresh wild herbs, and red floral perfume. Medium-bodied and charming, with an elegant structure and gorgeous fresh fruit, it’s delicious out of the gate. Offering ripe tannins and a graceful feel, it’s all about purity and freshness with this wine. A terrific value, it could be a great lens into the style of this estate and is a textbook example of the wines of the Willamette Valley.
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Wine Spectator
Elegant yet dynamic, this multilayered red reveals detailed cherry and red plum flavors that are laced with savory forest floor and mineral flavors, which build intensity toward polished tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Avni, fermented with 20% whole clusters, is bursting with layered scents of cranberries, strawberries, tangerine peel, mushrooms and tobacco. The medium-bodied palate is soft and vibrant with generous, spicy flavors and a long, flavorful finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Strawberries drizzled in dark chocolate share the aromatic spotlight with violets, saline and earthy oregano. A balanced wine, with velvety tannins, chipper acidity and flavors of raspberries, rosemary and hazelnuts. A smooth, round and enjoyable mouthfeel seals the deal.
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.