Winemaker Notes
A beautiful, vibrant colored wine with a light purple edge and medium+ density at its core. Another great version of Willamette Valley purity with its ethereal freshness and aromatic intensity. Black cherries arrive first on the nose, then a distinctive brambly quality that promises something very interesting in short order. Gentle baking spices, raspberries, fresh gala apples and a splash of old-fashioned draft cherry cola. Its light on the palate initially and so very pretty, with fine-grained tannins that twist into hints of cocoa and sweet cedar. This wine ignites the palate with ease, a swirling range of acidity that sweetens and reveals pomegranate, fresh herbs and an invigorating root beer essence. The tannin structure is delicate, but everlasting, all the while shows plenty of restraint in this youthful state. On the second pass you can sense the wines willingness to engage, as though its wanting to explain further its composition, it’s diversity and its overall brilliance. This wine is enchanting now, but with more than enough complexity to improve over the years ahead.
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.