Argentine winemaker Juan Pablo Valot worked at acclaimed Pinot Noir producers such as Dobbes Family Estate, Soter Vineyard and Willamette Valley Vineyards, and that experience shows in the flagship wine for this historic brand in the south Willamette Valley. There’s a Burgundian theme with its notes of light cherry, cassis, dried strawberry, saddle leather and earthiness. The … [Read more...] about Silvan Ridge Winery 2014 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $26
Oregon
Ghost Hill Cellars 2014 Bayliss-Bower Vineyard Pinot Noir Blanc, Yamhill-Carlton, $25
One of the final wines Rebecca Pittock Thompson bottled for Ghost Hill Cellars in 2015 is this still version of blanc de noir. It carries a touch of the pinkish golden hue found in a Pinot Gris with skin contact, and while it never saw oak the stirring of the lees accounts for a fascinating nose of a toffee sugar cookie, Graham cracker and caramel apple. The mouth feel is … [Read more...] about Ghost Hill Cellars 2014 Bayliss-Bower Vineyard Pinot Noir Blanc, Yamhill-Carlton, $25
Youngberg Hill 2013 Cuvée Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $30
McMinnville grower/winemaker/innkeeper Wayne Bailey features four clones of Pinot Noir that he produces across his dry-farmed estate — Pommard, Wadenswil, 113 and 777. It’s a 50-acre property, established in 1989, that excels with cool-climate Pinot Noir as a result of experience working one of the Willamette Valley’s westernmost vineyards. Aromas of Montmorency cherry, … [Read more...] about Youngberg Hill 2013 Cuvée Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $30
Winter’s Hill 2015 Estate Pinot Blanc, Dundee Hills, $19
The Gladhart family devotes 2 of their 35 acres to Pinot Blanc, a white grape from Burgundy that thrives in cooler conditions in the Pacific Northwest. Whole-cluster fermentation in stainless steel helps explain the phenomenally floral aromas of piña colada and peach fuzz backed by tangerine, grapefruit and Rose’s Lime Juice. Tangy tangerine flavors are followed by white peach … [Read more...] about Winter’s Hill 2015 Estate Pinot Blanc, Dundee Hills, $19
Vidon Vineyard 2013 Mirabelle Clone 115 Estate Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains, $50
Don Hagge’s L.I.V.E. Vidon Vineyard three miles north of the famed Dundee Hills includes a block of Mirabelle clone 115 planted in 2001 into Jory soils. It generated four barrels’ worth of this remarkable juice that hints at black cherry, Sugarfina Black Currant Berries and cola with rose petal and a dusting of white pepper. There are delicious rich cherry and dried blueberry … [Read more...] about Vidon Vineyard 2013 Mirabelle Clone 115 Estate Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains, $50