Winemaker Notes
The Barrel Select Pinot Noir is Raptor Ridge's most diverse and complex blend of 100 percent Pinot Noir from the Estate Vineyard, and multiple vineyard sites throughout the Willamette Valley. The winemaking team “tunes” and “tweaks” various trial blends comprised of percentage-wise mixes from over 100 barrels hand-picked from the cellar before arriving at each year's decision for the Barrel Select blend.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromatic and attractive with black cherries, blackberries and some lavender. Medium to full body with firm tannins and a long, vivid finish. Drink or hold.
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.