Thankfully, enough Pinot has now been planted in the Willamette Valley so that relatively affordable renditions are available in the region’s characteristic style. This is restrained in sweetness and weight but still nicely expressive with dark cherry fruit and very subtle tannin that lends definition.
Plum and soy sauce are up front flavors. This well-defined red elegantly settles on the palate. Blackberry jam is spiced with clove, with an oak-inspired finish.
Lemon cream shows some weight, with glistening notes of crushed stone and chamomile flowers. Honeyed pears and vanilla oak are refined and pleasant.
Lavender and boysenberries are bright and inviting, with sweet spice and a gentle woodsy character. A crowd pleaser, with polished tannins and ample acidity to maintain freshness.
Engagingly complex in both bouquet and flavors, this shows scents of cut grass, white melon, and grapefruit that all repeat on the palate. Although it is bright and fresh, there’s also good physical density and depth of flavor. Impressive for the asking price.
Ripe and approachable, with black cherry and milk chocolate enveloped in soft tannins. Along with the cushiony mouthfeel. The liquid is fresh and juicy.
Nectarine resounds from start to finish in tandem with nuances of caramelized pineapple, white cherry, and salted lime sherbet. Thanks to a pleasant touch of oiliness, the mouthfeel fairly cradles the bountiful fruit, balanced by lilting acidity.
Abundant in smashed cherry and blueberry with a smattering of candied violet and clove, the nose poses a delightfully curious contrast to the palate, whose combination of quite bright acidity and slightly grainy tannins lends textured freshness to flavors of black cherry and red apple—and so does a skosh of soil-dusted porcini toward the finish.