Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Coffee aromas and some delicate raspberry fruit come up immediately. At first the fruit seems over-matched, but give it some hours of breathing time and it fills out nicely, bringing on sweet cherry nuanced with fresh herbs. The coffee-edged barrel flavors put a frame around the finish.
-
Wine Spectator
Supple, lithe, polished and expressive, with currant and plum fruit riding on a plush frame. Not weighty, but generous and long. Delicate hints of cedar and pine add extra interest.
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.