Belle Pente Pinot noir Willamette Valley 08
See all in-stock Oregon 2008 vintage Pinot noirs
When one of the best wineries makes a value Pinot, you expect something special. Brian has mad skills and shows them in every wine he makes, from bargain to top of the line.
Brian's Willamette Valley is ready to drink up this summer. Big, juicy, and round - like the vintage - but taken up a notch in elegance and complexity. Complexity is an odd word to use for an under $20 Pinot, but this wine tastes like a lot more than $17.95.
Belle Pente's elegant, refined Pinots attract longtime Oregon winelovers whose every visit to the Willamette Valley includes a special trip to Belle Pente.
Almost exclusively sold by word of mouth, Belle Pente quietly released this wine last week. Even in the current tough market, it'll be gone shortly.
From the winery -
This wine provides the first peek at our 2008 Pinots, and it's hard not to like what we see! The buying strategy for this vintage is quite simple: get some of the "entry level" wines to enjoy over the next 6 years, then stock up on the single vineyard wines to hide in the cellar for 10-20 years!
The 2008 vintage was the latest on record at Belle Pente, and bore some resemblance to 1999. In both years, a picture perfect October came to the rescue of a very late season. We achieved nice maturity of a relatively low crop, and the resulting wines are concentrated and complex with moderate alcohol levels.
As in 2007, this wine is from 100% "declassified" estate grown fruit. It hails primarily from vigorous sections of the North & East Blocks, which typically carry higher yields and result in lighter bodied wines. We generally harvest them early and raise the wines in older barrels.
This 2008 version shows somewhat restrained herbal & floral aromas, with deep red-blue fruit. Crushed dark red & blue fruit flavors dominate the balanced, structured palate. The finish is clean, fresh, and long.
This is a very young wine that has only been in the bottle for a few months. It shows great potential, but will really benefit from some cellaring.
New York Times went crazy over this wine today - 1-17-2011. It was their #1 choice out of their top ten 2008 Oregon Pinot noirs.
So it sold out in about five minutes. And I called Brian, the winemaker, who's back from LA where he was pouring his dang darn BEAUTIFUL 2007 single vineyard Pinot noirs.
And he said "Go ahead and sell the Belle Pente Belle Pente Vineyard 08 - it's the first of the single vineyard 2008's to be released and it's one of the best Pinot noirs we made in 2008."
2007 Vintage Tasting Notes
Belle Pente Pinot noir Willamette Valley 07 - "The 2007 Pinot Noir is unfined and unfiltered and lighter in style for a typical pinot noir with bright garnet colors radiating through the cloudiness. Strong earthy aromas dominate upfront but as the wine opens, red fruit aromas emerge with a subtle spiciness across the nose. Great flavor." - macorkdork.com
"Belle Pente Cellars pinot noir, 2007 (Willamette Valley): Brian and Jill O'Donnell purchased their land in 1992, planted in 1994 and made wine in 1996. Unlike some others who grab a lot of attention from the get-go, Belle Pente has matured over time, and the wines — which are never flashy — are noteworthy. Earthy with berries, coffee, spice and traces of tarragon and anise, it is a bargain for the quality." - SF Examiner 7-09
A strikingly good Pinot, and limited. The nose has earthy, peppery, and ripe cherry notes, and flavors are of red pie cherry, fresh red raspberries, black pepper, cinnamon, and brambly, well integrated tannins. There's bright acidity and lovely balance.
2004 Vintage Tasting Notes
From the winery: "Our 2004 Willamette Valley blend utilizes fruit from Bella Vida (66%), Murto (11%), and Belle Pente Estate (23%) Vineyards. With the bulk of the fruit coming from vineyards in the Dundee Hills, this wine shows plenty of bright, fresh red fruit. To enable us to capture this in the bottle, we utilized a moderate oak treatment (25% new, with the balance spread equally among 1 to 5 year old barrels) and bottled a little earlier than normal (December vs February). The result is a classic lighter style Willamette Valley Pinot Noir which expresses the best characteristics of the vintage. Around 25% of the production of this wine is allocated to restaurants and wine merchants in New York, where it caused a "feeding frenzy" when it was released there last month. This wine offers terrific "price/performance" for enjoyment now and over the next few years."
