Winemaker Notes
The wine is aromatic with a mocha character, shows some barrel toast and has a long finish. 2007 was a "burgundian" growing season in the Willamette Valley. Acids are great. We concentrated the fermentation lots a bit by removing some of the juice at crush (saignee), freezing it and adding it back as concentrate. That raised what would have been 22 brix to 24 brix - full strength Pinot Noir. The wine should age for a very long time.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The richness of the aroma belies the elegance of this outstanding Pinot Noir. Tightly woven scents of sweet herb, tobacco, clove, forest floor fungus and spicy red fruits provide an introduction to a wine that can only be called svelte. It's as smooth as silk in the mouth, loaded with flavor and polished to a warm glow, which is exactly what it leaves you with after just one sip.
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.