Bergström Sigrid Chardonnay 2015
Finely tuned and elegant, somehow it reminds me of a 1937 Talbot-Lago — Bergström’s 2015 Sigrid Chardonnay displays beautiful, sweeping lines. Lemon curd, and orchard fruit usher in a treasure trove of secondary aromas: buttered toast, spearmint, orange blossom, and flint. On the palate, orchard and stone fruit laced in lemon pith and stony minerality […]
Bergström Bergström Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016
From John and Karen Bergström’s estate vineyard, planted in 1999, the 2016 Bergström Vineyard Pinot Noir offers up heady layers of raspberry eau-de-vie, sweet spice, and purple lilacs. The perception of lightness and nimbleness is probably one of the most important examples of Pinot Noir, but it does not matter . A long, glorious finish […]
Beaux Frères The Beaux Frères Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015
From Beaux Frères original estate vineyard, planted by Mike and Jackie Etzel from 1987 through 1991, and primarily to Pommard & Wädenswil clones, all on their own roots. The 2015 vintage is a portrait of weightlessness and concentration—an expression Oregon Pinot Noir can achieve in a good vintage, and under the watchful eye of a […]
Beaux Frères Gran Moraine Pinot Noir 2015
From a small, narrow vineyard aptly named The Tongue, Beaux Frères 2015 Gran Moriane Pinot Noir is made from Dijon clones planted in transitional volcanic marine uplift. Coastal influence has graced it with lavish aromas of ripe blue fruit, black raspberries, underbrush, lilacs, and a dusting of cocoa powder. The profile is more masculine in […]
Cristom Eileen Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015
Eileen is Cristom’s highest elevation vineyard, a 16-acre parcel that benefits from cooling marine breezes and low fertility Witzel and Nekia type soils. Raspberry and black cherry notes glide beneath with lighter tones of fragrant roses, hibiscus tea, and exotic spice. Lifted fruit, and racy acidity lead into silken tannins perched at the front palate, […]
Angela Estate Pinot Noir 2012
Angela, sweet Angela, you sang just as I’d hoped you would…with a lovely floral countenance of hibiscus flowers, rose petal, clove and baking spice swirl above richer, denser notes of black cherry, boysenberry and forest floor. Concentrated without being heavy, these wines are a masterpiece from Ken Wright, expressing Pinot’s full range and potential. The […]
Angela Estate ‘Abbott Claim’ Pinot Noir 2012
A blend of Pommard and clones 777 and 115, all rooted in ancient marine sedimentary soils that form the foundation and consequently the backbone of the 2012 Angela Abbott Claim Vineyard. Textbook growing conditions combined with this stellar site have yielded a wine with heady, rapturous aromas of hibiscus, musky black tea, mushrooms, truffles, smokey […]
Lingua Franca Mimi’s Mind Pinot Noir 2015
Mimi’s Mind, so named to honor the work of Mimi Casteel, and her east-facing vineyard site of Woodburn, Nekia, and Jory type soils planted in the 1970s. I am told that the vines are own-rooted and phylloxera-free, making them a rarity in the Eola-Amity Hills. The 2015, dressed in a translucent ruby robe, is poised […]
Cristom Mt. Jefferson Cuvée Pinot Noir 2015
Cristom’s 2015 Mount Jefferson Cuvée Pinot Noir combines all five of the winery’s estate vineyards, and fruit from a few, select neighboring sites. The palate is both seamless and precise in its acid balance, truly, this is where this silken cuvée shows its pedigree. Fine, sueded tannins gather and fade—a slow, amaranthine unfolding of white […]
Lingua Franca Mimi’s Mind Pinot Noir 2015
Mimi’s Mind, so named to honor the work of Mimi Casteel, and her east-facing vineyard site of Woodburn, Nekia, and Jory type soils planted in the 1970s. I am told that the vines are own-rooted and phylloxera-free, making them a rarity in the Eola-Amity Hills. The 2015, dressed in a translucent ruby robe, is poised […]