Winemaker Notes
Fresh red fruits of strawberry, cranberry and pie cherry tinged with notes of rose petal and peppercorn leap from the glass. The mouth has darker notes of cola, blackberry, salty licorice, and vanilla. The finish holds bright acidity framed by soft tannins and a hint of rhubarb jam to perfectly balance this lovely pure expression of Oregon Pinot Noir
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Tavola, a blend of fruit from several vineyards throughout the Willamette Valley, has a pale ruby-purple color and aromas of cranberries, red cherries, orange peel, licorice and baking spice. The light-bodied palate is soft and juicy with crunchy red fruit, generous streaks of allspice and a long, spicy finish. This is easy to drink! Best After 2023
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Wine Enthusiast
Year-in, year-out, the Tavola is one of the Willamette Valley's best values. The current vintage entices with aromas of ripe dark plums, raspberries, talc and cedar. The sweet red raspberry, lime and angel food cake flavors glide on a smooth, slippery texture.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Pinot Noir Tavola comes from fruit sourced from lower elevation sites and younger vines that are picked a little earlier, meant to be an expression of the entire valley. It’s a ripe but transparent ruby hue and offers up perfumed aromas of red raspberry, fresh herbs and flowers, and dusty earth. Medium-bodied, with good freshness, it has fine tannins and energy throughout, as well as a clean finish.
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.