Review:
The Dundee Hills has a plumper core of fruit, showing bright pie cherries up front with a thread of dark currant that helps usher in the spicy finish of nutmeg, white pepper and fresh earth. While much of the hype from last year's wines focused on the Willamette Valley Pinot, the Dundee Hills gets our vote. - Marcus
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
2008 Vintage Tasting Notes
Distinguished winemaker Brian O'Donnell is one of those low key Oregon farmers whose fans take most of his wines at Belle Pente's private tastings.
Belle Pente's Dundee Hills 08 shows how Brian takes advantage of a great vintage to let his skills shine. It's everything you expect from him, magnified by perfect weather conditions and long experience.
One of my favorite wineries - Brian's wines have a lot in common, style-wise, with Russ Raney's Evesham Wood and Thomas Winery's Pinots. - Jean
From the winery -
This third release of our Dundee Hills bottling is a blend from Bella Vida (60%) and Murto (40%) vineyards. The Bella Vida fruit is the result of a “share-cropping” arrangement (we get grapes in exchange for winemaking), and the Murto fruit is predominantly from younger (15-20 year old) sections of our 6 acre parcel there.
As in prior vintages, this wine delivers a lot of Dundee Hills character at a very modest price. It is a bit more expressive that the Willamette Valley bottling at this point, with ripe red fruit flavors and aromas, a silky texture, great balance, and a fresh finish.
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
Belle Pente Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 07 - A new offering from Belle Pente, with lots of berry and blue fruit flavors. The nose is all blueberry, herbs, and violets, the flavors are blackberry, blueberry, plum, and a sweet streak of spice. It's so well balanced, a wine that shows the art of the winemaker in a difficult vintage. Excellent price/performance.