Winemaker Notes
Vivacious red fruit twirling ruthlessly on the entry, the 2019 Conifer has the power of early summer sunlight with the tenderness and warmth of a random act of kindness. Peak summer ponderosa pine forest, baked earth, tulips, and cedar dust give way to mandarins and allspice on the palate. Notes of peak ripe berries and cocoa lead to a broad, acid driven finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A compelling wine, broad-shouldered yet detailed, offering expressive blueberry and guava flavors, which take on bitter chocolate and forest floor accents as this builds toward medium-grained tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby, the 2019 Pinot Noir Conifer opens very meaty and savory, taking time to reveal aniseed, tobacco and a core of dark cherries. Soft and refreshing, the medium-bodied palate features restrained, earth-laced fruit and a long, spicy finish.
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James Suckling
Pretty nose of dried roses, strawberries, orange zest, bergamot and nutmeg. Bright and crunchy, with a medium body, fine tannins and a vibrant finish.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.