Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Generous and velvety, this has pretty strawberry and red cherry flavors contoured by a mild, tarry bottom note. For all that richness of fruit the wine feels composed, light on its feet. Give it time to settle, then serve with duck.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
While I still consider the widespread association in the Willamette of Jory soils with red fruits and WillaKenzie soils with darker berries (as opposed to considering ripeness, clone, and other factors more relevant to determining position on a red-black axis), the WillaKenzie 2010 Pinot Noir Pierre Leon and its Jory Hills Vineyard counterpart could easily be used to buttress received opinion. Blackberry and cassis dominate here, and the brown spices, resin and caramel from barrel are better integrated than was the case in that Jory bottling. Bright, juicy primary fruit; a seed-crunching tang yet against a polished background; and a savory, mouthwatering undertone of meat stock and roasted red meats come together for a complete, seamless, and sustained performance. This ought to perform admirably through at least 2018.
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.