Beaux Freres Pinot noir Upper Terrace 06
Beaux Freres Pinot noir Ribbon Ridge The Upper Terrace 06
Wine Spectator 94 Points and Wine Spectator "HOT" Wine in Wine Spectator "Insider" for May 7, 2008:
Elegant and refined, with a plush underpinning to the luscious raspberry, blackberry and black plum fruit, shaded with subtle hints of peppermint and a whiff of char as the finish sails on smoothly. Drink now through 2016. From Oregon. H.S."
Avalon Tasting Notes: The Beaux Freres Upper Terrace Pinot noir 06 shows its brooding nature again. Rich, ripe Rainier cherries, black berries and boysenberries begin to show with air. A sexy hint of truffled earth builds with big black fruits and bits of bramble. The wine takes on an intense richness that matches substantial foods such as grilled meats and hearty stews. There's an intense richness to the wine, which almost hides the structured tannins that will allow for more than a decade of aging. Still, it's hard to keep from sipping the 06 Upper Terrace now!
From the winery:
The Upper Terrace Vineyard has a character all its own. Even though it is a neighbor to the Beaux Freres Vineyard, and shares both soil type and exposure, Upper Terrace is planted exclusively to Dijon clones; we believe this gives the wine a darker fruit character, with aromas of forest floor and spring flowers....
recent tastings show an impressively deep ruby/purple color, with boysenberry, blackberry, and black currant emerging along with spring flowers and a slightly restrained yet intense bouquet. This full-bodied wine is a very noble expression of Pinot Noir that tastes as if it emerged from a cooler climate than that of our Newberg, Oregon farm. Its personality is forming beautifully, and while we find the wine less exuberant and flamboyant in its youth than the Beaux Freres Vineyard, it is our belief that with a few years of bottle age it will round into maturity. This wine should age effortlessly for 15 or more years.
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Tasting Notes 2005
Wine Spectator rating 92 points: "More recent plantings of Dijon clones at the top of the estate vineyard produce this Pinot with a plush feel, despite its open, velvety texture. It offers black cherry, raspberry and subtle spice flavors, finishing with a fleshiness that makes it seductive. More up-front than the Beaux Freres vineyard bottling, but it should hum well for quite a few years. Drink now through 2015." H.S.
Avalon Tasting Notes
A big bruiser of a Pinot, this is co-owner Robert Parker's favorite of the Pinots made by Beaux Freres. It was also the most closed of the three 2005 wines when tasted in January 2007. The darkest, meatiest, most intensely flavored of the Beaux Freres wines, this wine has the longest potential life in the cellar. It's a wine for serious collectors who don't mind laying a wine down for ten years or more.
The nose of the Upper Terrace 05 is restrained, with a hint of black fruit and rich, creamy toast. Flavors begin with a gush of sweet black fruit, toast, and silky tannins with a bit of a grip. An Avalon employee said at the tasting "there's just the most there there". It's intense, and very different from the Estate, which seems more sweet red fruit driven in comparison to this massive Pinot. The Upper Terrace is aged on lees in 80-90% new Francois Freres new oak barrels, with medium to heavy toast and some toasted heads.
Winery Tasting Notes
The 2005 Upper Terrace has much of the Beaux Freres Vineyard's character, but exhibits a deeper color, more depth, and even more color and richness. Unmistakable floral and forest floor components clearly suggest a grand cru red Burgundy from the Cotes de Nuits, notably Vosne-Romanee or Flagey-Echezeaux.
We believe that the floral and forest components of the wine come from the Dijon clone Pinot noir planted in the Upper Terrace, which are the best materials from Burgundy, and seem to be best suited for Oregon's cooler climates. With these clones planted in the steeply sloped vineyard, this wine always comes across as meatier, richer, and fuller than the Beaux Freres Estate cuvee, which is largely a blend of Pommard and Wadenswil clones.
The wines from the Upper Terrace exhibit a Burgundian aromatic profile and the vineyard tends to crop lower almost naturally, so the wine seems to have even more density, and richness than the Beaux Freres Estate. This 2005 will benefit from 1-3 years of bottle age, and be drinkable over the following 12-15+ years.
2004 Tasting Notes
From the winery:
Our Upper Terrace Vineyard is planted on a steep Southeast facing slope to Pinot Noir Dijon clones 113, 114, 115, 667,777 on three different root stocks. The site has sedimentary soils and a slightly higher elevation than the original Beaux Freres Vineyard.
The 2004 Upper Terrace is the richest, potentially most complex and densest of our offerings this vintage. It is much sexier out of the gate than the blockbuster 2002, and is more evolved aromatically than the large scaled 2003. The bouquet is a combination of black raspberry, blackberry, and deep, dark, broodingly smoky black cherries. As it sits in the glass subtle hints of mountain flowers emerge. In the mouth striking richness, intensity as well as suppleness make it the most accessible Upper Terrace yet produced.
2003 Vintage Tasting Notes
2003 vintage rating:Wine Spectator rating 94 points: "Amazingly supple, graceful, and focused, balancing raspberry, blackberry, plum, and spicy, smoky elements into a seamless whole, all wrapped in fine tannins and lingering on the finish beautifully. Drink now through 2013." H.S.
2003 tasting notes:
Scents of black cherry, spice, and saddle leather lead to hugely concentrated flavors of sweet plum, cherry, chocolate, and spice, lots of depth and complexity while sustaining a fresh, lush quality. The flavors of plummy chcolate continue in the long finish, with a hint of white pepper rising from fine grained tannins. The complexity, balance and sophistication of this wine makes it a world class Pinot noir and a candidiate for cellaring for 5-8 years. Remarkably good in the face of a difficult vintage, this 2003 wine sets a high standard for others to match. -jy
