Winemaker Notes
A medium-dark brooding wine quickly reveals dark forest floor aromas, Brooks plums and an outstanding candied orange zest. There's a high level of spice on the nose that alternates between dusty cinnamon, juniper and a sweet holiday Christmas spice. It's exotic aromatically, and seems to unfold differently with each pass. A high-profiled wine texturally, with forest floor elements intertwined with
blackberry compote and delicate pine resin. The tannin structure begins to take hold with dusty cocoa powder, black current and sweet purple flower. It has a generosity in the mid-palate, but finishes with impressive length and tension. Just a spectacular vintage of this 100% ungrafted, old-vine, limited production bottling.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The medium ruby 2021 Pinot Noir Own-Rooted is gorgeous, with a floral, expressive perfume of herbes de Provence, cardamom, wild raspberry, and mossy earth. Medium-bodied, with fine, graceful tannins, its floral perfume floats across the palate with a highly refined feel and a mouthwatering mineral accent on the finish.
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James Suckling
Deep red currants and plump raspberries form a beautifully focused core in this substantial but graceful wine made from old vineyard plots that are not grafted to other rootstock. Medium-bodied, moderately tannic and nervy, with fresh acidity. Pure and balanced.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Own-Rooted comes from the Nysa, Bishop and Hyland vineyards, and it's bursting with perfume! Raspberry, strawberry and rhubarb are accented by tones of Cara Cara orange, mixed tea leaves, forest floor and amaro; it's notably detailed and pure and gains in intensity and expression as it airs in the glass. The medium-bodied palate features surprisingly concentrated layers of red fruit, flowers and spice. It's structured by velvety tannins and a bright spine of acidity, and it has a layered, detailed finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This elegant wine is made with fruit from the own-rooted vines of three mature Willamette Valley vineyards: Bishop Creek, Hyland and Nysa. Dark raspberry and plum aromas are encircled by notes of lemon peel and crushed brick dust. Bright acidity is matched by silky tannins, with flavors of black cherries, blueberries and bergamot tea.
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Decanter
A blend from three different vineyards planted on their own rootstocks, Hyland in McMinnville, the estate Bishop Creek site in the Yamhill Carlton and Nysa Vineyard in the Dundee Hills. This concentrated effort shows sweet blue and black fruit aromatics with ample floral notes. The palate shows lush elegance, with fruit and florals dominating the show. Crushed black and red berries mingle with notes of pine tar and finish with a lightness.
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Wine Spectator
Brooding yet spirited, with deep black cherry and currant flavors laced with accents of garrigue, black tea and forest floor, plus cardamon and other dusky spice notes. Gathers tension toward broad-shouldered tannins.
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.