2018 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Raspberry and dark cherry lead into woodsy aromas of mushroom, violet and thyme. Full and very fruit-forward, the wine finishes long with cardamom and warm baking spices.

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“This has a very attractively fragrant and perfumed nose with roses, red cherries and berry pastry. The palate has good intensity and depth with very supple, sweet red cherries taking center stage. Drink now.”
– James Suckling (Jan, 2020)

Here is a textbook example of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Sturdy and dark-fruited, it’s a reasonably substantial wine, well balanced and showing light barrel influences of toast, coffee and smoke. Nothing too fancy, but varietally true.

– Wine Enthusiast (August, 2020)

“Deep ruby color, bright cherry nose; ripe cherry, juicy style, crisp, racy and fresh; long and tangy.”

– The Tasting Panel Magazine (March, 2020)

Vintage

VINTAGE 2018’s growing season started hot and dry through spring and summer, but relief was just around the corner. A hearty rain weeks before harvest and cool temperatures in September and October slowed ripening and gave the fruit additional hang-time. Harvest came late with small, intensely flavored berries with a high skin-to-juice ratio. After a slow start, the second half of harvest saw the simultaneous ripening of multiple blocks and a veritable “crush” in the fermentation hall. Once again, we were thankful for the added capacity of our 2013 cellar expansion and a crew of seasoned pros in the vineyard and the cellar.

These are wines of ample flavors and high maturity levels. The Pinot Noirs are bold and fruit-forward with higher than average tannins. In the white wines, expect more tropical fruit aromas in addition to the classic stone-fruit aromas. This is a great vintage for those who appreciate boldness in cool-climate varietals. 2018 wines are highly intriguing, their intense richness balanced by lifted tones, coming from a warm growing season that thankfully concluded in a cool autumn.

Vineyard

Our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is made with 100% estate grown fruit from all six of our vineyard sites: The Winery Estate, Mount Richmond, Five Mountain, Clay Court, Goodrich and Windhill. These sites are comprised of both Pommard and Dijon plant material, with multiple clones represented. Because we draw from vineyards representing all three of the major Willamette Valley soil types, we are able to pick and choose for different flavor components to make the best possible blend each year for our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Some people call this making wine “spice rack” style, we usually just call it delicious. Our goal is the perfect version of what we believe a Willamette Valley Pinot should be: a wine with freshness of fruit, well-integrated alcohol, and great concentration of flavor.

Winemaking

To make our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, fruit from each vineyard block is fermented separately in small, temperature controlled steel tanks, hand punched down twice daily, and barreled in 20% new French oak barrels. After 10 months of aging in 20% new oak, the wine we choose for the Willamette Valley Pinot is carefully blended to produce the most approachable, well-balanced Pinot Noir we make.