Winemaker Notes
The wine is a clear and bright ruby in the glass. Momtazi produces expressive and characterful wines, and the 2017 vintage has vivid aromas of crushed sugared blackberry, passionfruit, pine sap, and plum on the nose. Very upright, linear acidity undergirds the generous palate weight. A very structured wine which will benefit from a decade or more of cellaring. In the mouth, it is condensed, tight by some aspects, yet seductive. The finish is very long, some may find it severe, most will get an impression of liveliness.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A very impressive pinot that has a spirited, lively style with abundantly fresh and fleshy red cherries, as well as dark peaches and nectarines. The palate has the same brand of exotically vibrant stone fruit and delivers a silky, sheer build of tannin.
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Wine Enthusiast
Many wineries purchase and feature Momtazi grapes, but this wine, more than most, captures their essential character. It's concentrated yet restrained, showcasing the “earth-driven characteristics” cited on the back label. Brambly berries, sweet hints of tomato, citrus flavors in abundance and a pleasant hint of fresh greens complete a supple and impressive wine with ample length and detail.
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Wine Spectator
A wine that unfurls slowly, with a simmering backbone of tannin and acidity that highlights elegant rose petal, raspberry and crushed rock accents. Cellar for now. Best from 2022 through 2030.
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.”
Stretching southwest from the city of McMinnville, the AVA with the same name covers about 40,000 acres across 20 miles until it meets the Van Duzer Corridor. This corridor is the only break in the Coast Range whose gap allows the cool Pacific Ocean air to flow eastward into the Willamette Valley.
The Pacific's moderating winds hit McMinnville’s south and southeast facing slopes where cool-climate varieties—namely Pinot noir and Pinot blanc thrive on ridges at between 200 to 1,000 feet in elevation.
Soils here are primarily uplifted marine sedimentary loam and silt, with alluvial formations; McMinnville receives less rainfall than its neighbors to the east because it is situated in the rain shadow of the Coast Range.