2005 vintage notes will be posted shortly.
Previous vintage tasting notes:Snap this one up quickly, it's the best Willamette Valley Estate from Van Duzer ever. In our opinion, it's a better wine than the 91 point rated (WS) 2003 vintage. Oregon's 2004 vintage was more balanced than 2003, and Jim works his magic here to get every bit of ooomph out of Van Duzer's Estate vineyard. The wine has a distinct hint of rose petals and violets in the nose, along with dominant black cherry, black currant, and a hint of spicey scent. Flavors are first of rich black cherry and blackberry, with hints of boysenberry, black raspberry, currants, cinnamon, graham, white pepper, and lavender following on the long finish. Production was a bit lower than last year.
Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:
Wine Spectator rating 91 points and "Highly Recommended" for 2003 vintage! (2002 vintage received 90 points). "Lithe, seductive and lingering, with lovely blueberry, cherry and currant flavors that point right through the long finish, shaded with hints of nutmeg and a floral note. Drink now through 2013." -H.S.
From the winery:
The svelte power of the 2004 Estate Pinot Noir is not apparent at first. Initial impressions are distractingly complex with dark fruits like black cherry, blackberry, pomengranate, blueberry and currant vying for attention with floral aromas of violet and rose petal. With another swirl of the glass, more impressions emerge: red cherry, hibiscus, fresh-turned earth, spice aromas of white pepper, cinnamon and graham. The flavors in the mouth are just as savory, with lots of rich, ripe blackberry, black cherry, pomengranate, boysenberry, and black currant. The tannins are already soft, yet fill the mouth with the richness they provide. The acid backbone of this wine is disguised by luciously ripe fruit flavors.
Our 75 acre vineyard is planted to nine clones of Pinot Noir, each precisely farmed according to the climactic conditions at the vineyard site and the characteristics of the clone. An unusually dry winter and spring triggered early ripening of the grapes but well-timed and moderate rainfall in mid-September allowed the grapes to acheive full maturity. At the time of harvest- -September 24 through October 2- -sugar levels hovered at 23 brix and the grapes reached a good acid/pH balance. Veraison started in late July, two weeks earlier than previous years. As a result, the hang time prior to harvest that is so beneficial to flavor development was almost a full eight weeks.
Over time, Van Duzer has developed a winemaking process that is well suited to our vineyard. The grape clusters are harvested by hand, sorted for quality, then destemmed and placed into cold maceration tanks to extract bright colors and soft tannins. A variety of yeasts are used, each chosen to enhance and preserve the nature or 'terroir' of our Estate Pinot Noir. When fermentation is completed, the wine is transferred to a mix of 35% new, 30% once-used and 35% neutral French oak barrels where it undergoes malo-lactic fermentation. The wine is then aged for 10 months prior to bottling.
Most Northwest pinots are terrific, particularly the '05 vintage, so we were looking forward to trying this one after finding it at our local Safeway.... more...
One to reckon with!
Oct 11, 2006
Charles Gonzalez
Miami Fl US
Excellent! Highly recommended! Oregon is coming out with several Pinot Noirs that can certainly compete with the finest Burgundy wines that France has to... more...
