Winemaker Notes
A beautiful garnet color is the first indication of a dense, concentrated harvest. It’s stunning at first approach with red cherry, black tea and subtle splashes of toasted clove, spices and citrus aromas. The fruit is crunchy and wet at this early stage, but a core of cinnamon spice and light menthol arrive to inter-mingle with these cold-pressed red fruit elements as the wine begins to stretch out. Alert acidity on the front-end gives way to granite, medium-weight tannins. It’s round on the palate, but shifts into a compression of red bush fruits, orange citrus and sandalwood that presses for minutes but still finds a way to maintain an elegant canter so typical of this celebrated cuvée.
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.