Winemaker Notes
This 2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir offers an expressive aroma pro?le characterized by expressive red fruits interwoven with classic Willamette Valley earth tones – notes of strawberry, raspberry, forest ?oor, black tea and a hint of blood orange. On the palate, the wine is vibrant and energetic and juicy, with an appropriate level of balanced acidity to work in harmony with the wine’s ?ne-grained tannins.
Vegan
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Willakenzie's new estate-focused blend, the 2016 Estate Pinot Noir is pale ruby-purple in color with a lovely spicy nose of red licorice, dried rose petals and potpourri over a core of bright red fruits—raspberry, strawberry, rhubarb and red cherry with cinnamon stick accents. Light to medium-bodied, it features bright red fruits framed with oodles of savory/spicy notes in the mouth. It has firm, grainy tannins and wonderful juicy acidity, finishing long with spicy layers. This will show best after a couple of years in bottle. 3,000 cases produced. Rating: 92+
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir is pleasing and smooth on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine is fresh, bright, and alive in its aromas and flavors. Pair it with lightly-spiced, grilled lamb chops. (Tasted: March 4, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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.