Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Broad, generous and juicy, this openly fruity and gulp-able wine tastes fresh in just-crushed cherries and blueberries, with subtle oak spices for added interest. A medium body and moderate tannins keep it lively and appetizing.
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Wine Spectator
Precise and snappy, with sleek flavors of cherry, cranberry, green tea and dusky spices that end with refined tannins.
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Vinous
The 2023 Pinot Noir Winemakers Cuvée opens in the glass with licorice and rose tones that give way to crushed raspberries. This is a juicy effort, offering tart wild berry fruits and a cascade of inner florals. The 2023 finishes juicy and long, with an air of violet inner florals and a hint of tart cherry that slowly fades.
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.