Winemaker Notes
Spice-driven with restrained fruit, the Rex Hill Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is an overtly complex and layered wine. Pretty, floral notes of lavender and violet join spicy aromas of black pepper, cedar, tobacco and Bergamot tea. There is a taut, lean Old World-style quality to the earthiness on the nose, and the accompanying fruit is on the darker spectrum: black cherry, currant, cassis and wild blueberry. On the palate, the chewy tannins point to the whole-cluster inclusion during fermentation, with a peppery spice element showing through. The palate is again spice-driven and complex with fresh acidity and austerity that promises bottle aging potential. The long finish lingers with hints of juicy plum.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Supple and vibrant, with fresh raspberry and pomegranate flavors laced with appealing notes of black tea and underbrush. Finishes with refined tannins. Drink now.
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James Suckling
Lots of ripe strawberry with bark and grilled-meat aromas that follow through to a medium body with dried fruit and a spicy finish. A little loose-knit at the end, but satisfying.
REX HILL has been making elegant Pinot Noirs for over 30 years in the Willamette Valley at the gateway to Oregon's wine country. It is one of the original LIVE certified wineries and owned vineyards that are farmed following Biodynamic principles. REX HILL honors exceptional single vineyards and continues a legacy of singular Pinot Noirs that reflect their origin. That sense of place is paramount to the way we farm our land and make our wines. Named a 2017 Wine Advocate Extraordinary Winery in the Americas, REX HILL consistently offers authentic wines that are balanced, complex, rich and delicious.
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.