Famed Oregon winemaker Tony Rynders continues to make his followers and his clients happy. In this case, that would be vineyard owners Marnie & Brett Wall. While former Abacela viticulturist Alex Cabrera oversees eight young clonal blocks of Pinot Noir at Open Claim, Rynders spun this into a blend of just three — Dijon clones 667 and 777 with Swiss clone Wädenswil. Stylistically, there’s a bit more French oak influence cast upon this bottling than many in the Willamette Valley, but Rynders struck the sweet spot with his regimen of 16 months in 40% new barrels. The nose of Blackcurrant Travel Sweets, black cherry and pecan pie include some earthiness for complexity. On the palate, it is superbly balanced, silky with black cherry, brown sugar and pie cherry filling. What tannins are available make for a pleasantly fleshy finish that gets better with each sip. Much of the Walls’s young fruit has made it into the cellars of cult producers such as Broadley, 00 Wines and Napa-based Joel Gott since the first planting in 2012. We can hope the Walls will keep more of their fruit and ask Rynders to expand his relationship with Open Claim. And if the Mount Pisgah region is recognized by the federal government as an American Viticultural Area, Open Claim is positioned to become a touchstone for the new appellation just south of the Van Duzer Corridor west of Oregon’s state capital.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 60 cases
Alcohol: 14.1%
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