The 2018 vintage is the third in a trio of great Willamette Valley vintages. The wines are defined by a layered, complex nature, with ripe fruit flavors, great acidity, modest alcohols, fine tannins, and a precise expression of terroir. Tasting through the 2018s, we have consistently been struck by the clear delineations between the vineyards, the old-world elegance and light-footed nature of the wines. A vintage both for excellent near-term enjoyment, and magnificent cellaring potential.

Whistling Ridge Vineyard

2019 WHISTLING RIDGE RIESLING

Aromatically expressive with oyster shells, steely mineral, lime blossoms and fresh meadow herbs. Bright, refreshing, dry, with lovely yellow orchard fruits and great citrus acidity. Fermented in neutral acacia, giving this lovely texture to balance the cut and acidic backbone. 12.1% alcohol, nearly bone dry, this will age for a decade, and while it’s a lovely wine to beat the heat now, best from 2022-2029.

50 cases produced.

2018 RIBBON RIDGE CHARDONNAY

Beautiful opening aromas of pear tart, meyer lemon, spring flowers and hazelnut. Light bodied but textural, silky and expansive. Clean lines, lively, refreshing citrus, baguette crust, cream, and just a touch smoke. Adds notes of orchard fruits, yellow apple and pear. This seems like a perfect holiday wine to me. It’s delicious, low alcohol, textural enough for cooler weather (and sunny in it’s nature which is enjoyable when the weather is poor). It’s unquestionably fine wine and offers tremendous value.

226 cases produced.

2018 WHISTLING RIDGE CHARDONNAY

Upon opening a tinge of smoke, seawater, fresh grain, star fruit, lemon peel, white flowers, and stone. Linear, medium-light bodied and refreshing, with bright acidity. On day 2, an avalanche of pure fresh lemon curd. Followed by a bit of refreshing grapefruit zest, sage, seawater, shell and crushed rocks. Jumps from the glass, compelling and vibrant. The palate is still taut, energetic, with bright citrus, fresh squeezed lemonade, and hints of fresh herbs. Delicious, but best from 2023-2030.

113 cases produced.

2018 WHISTLING RIDGE PINOT NOIR

I love this wine. Vibrantly red fruited, elegant, light-bodied and gamine-like. Perhaps the most purely red of the 2018 Pinot Noirs. Red currants, dry red cherries, potpourri, and orange peel. Weightless, refreshing, crystalline, juicy in the mouth adding strawberries to the parade of red fruits. Very pure, very Pinot Noir. Drink for a year with food, then from 2023-2030.

226 cases produced.

2018 HOUSE BLOCK, WHISTLING RIDGE PINOT NOIR

Opens with orange peel, autumn leaves, and dried roses. Quickly fills in to fresh roses, dark cherries, and an undertone of subois. Dried leaves, potpourri, pie spices, maple sugar, red roses, and more orange zest. The palate has tightened up a touch from bottling, and shows red fruits, pomegranate, cherry, cranberry, overlaid with orange peel, and clean tannins. More subois but excellent resonance in the finish, autumn, dry leaf litter and warm brown spices. Superb balance, some sappiness that seems specific to House Block and the Heritage No. 12. Drink for a year with food, then from 2024-2034.

110 cases produced.

2018 LONG ACRE, WHISTLING RIDGE PINOT NOIR

Classic aromas of Whistling Ridge: elegantly perfumed, tons of potpourri notes, red apple skin, red currant, clove, cinnamon stick, amaro spices, orange peel, dried flowers, menthol, and sage. The nose is lovely: expressive, very fine and elegant. On the palate tart red fruits dominate, juicy, with cranberry, sour cherry, and currants. Linear, pretty, weightless, the bright acids and fine firm tannins are well balanced and speak to an excellent aging profile. Give it a year to check in, and look to 2025-2032 to drink.

110 cases produced.

2018 BELOVED ACRE, WHISTLING RIDGE PINOT NOIR

Warm dry spice, tobacco(fresh box of cigars?), clean and aromatic hinting at flint, red apples, opening up to aromas of kitchen spice. Compelling, with layers upon layers unraveling with time in the glass, loamy earth, warm brown spice, puer teas, forest, hints of graham for a moment, red plum compote, hints of anise and fennel. Citrus rinds, strawberry/rhubarb pie, toffee, mint, and lavender. I am sure this wine will have it’s shut down moments, but when open it will be kaleidoscopic in it’s range. The palate is linear red fruits right now, red apple, red cherry, amaro spices and tannins, refreshing, silky, with a great balance of fine tannins and just enough acidity. Drink 2023-2033.

55 cases produced.

2018 HERITAGE NO. 12, WHISTLING RIDGE PINOT NOIR

Deeply fragrant. Dense, tranquil, ripe dark red cherry and strawberry, strawberry leaf, summer garden. Lilacs, lavender, and brown spices. Succulent juicy ripe fruits, excellent energy, weightless but juicy and full, finishing with bright acidity and firm tannins. Opens to cherry blossoms, strawberry pie, bright red currant and apple, wonderful balance between fruit and savory finish. This is the first year that this wine has been crafted from the best of three blocks: House, Long and Beloved. Longevity will not be a problem for this wine, but it has plenty of fruit for some early looks. Lovely now over a few days, I think that with air this really shows well and should continue to integrate over the next year. Then drink from 2023-2030

160 cases produced.

2015 HERITAGE NO. 4, WHISTLING RIDGE PINOT NOIR

Lovely, expressive, and voluminous nose. Stone, smoke, autumn leaves, dry earth, deeply red fruits, ripe raspberry, cherry pastilles, toffee, and orange zest. Shows the robustness of the vintage, but still in a sleek satiny way. With air the orange peel jumps forward, juicy strawberry appears, along with herbs, and floral tones. In the mouth red fruits, linear through the mid-palate and finishing with bright acids and fine tannins. At 5 years this is still a baby, but 45 minutes in a decanter will offer you a wonderful Pinot Noir experience.

Fir Crest Vineyard

2018 FIR CREST VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Purple flowers, violets and lavender. Sandalwood, fresh ground coffee, basil, conifer, and rooibos tea. Opens to deep red cherry, blackberry, and perhaps even blueberry pie. Clean linear entry, no excess fat, weightless and energetic, moving with crisp freshness from red raspberry into blue fruits, into fine tannins and fresh nervy acidity. Long and bright. Reminds me of very good Santenay. This will gain weight and texture over the next year, tighten up for a bit, and then drink very well for the next 12-15 years.

113 cases produced. 

2018 BLOCK 8, FIR CREST VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Dense nose, smells darkly meaty or forest. Coffee, blue fruits, dark berries, and dry earth. Like a dark fruited Nebbiolo, lots of layers, stony and savory edge. Tar, dried violets and roses, brooding yet floral. Purple in the mouth, nicely juicy, full tannins but weightless as well. Dry finish, astringent, opens to cherries and spice, finishes like an amaro.

55 cases produced.

2017 BLOCK 11, FIR CREST VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Expressive, floral, beautiful nose. Knit together after a year in bottle, this is the range Pinot Noir can cover, lilacs, kitchen spices, sage and thyme, potpourri, beautiful red fruits, sweet cranberry, red cherry, hints of citrus peel. Old lace and dusty purple flowers. With time(day two and three) this is beautiful pure red fruits, sous bois, and a dark stony tone like black granite or ironwood. Juicy in the mouth with red/violet fruits, great energy, movement, and the fabulous balance of the 2017s. Savory, stony mouth feel under coiled fruit and bright acids. This has a long life ahead of it, but with air and food would be a lovely wine for dinner tonight(and tomorrow night if the bottle lasts). A first release for us of this wine, just reviewed by Josh Reynolds of Vinous.

55 cases produced.

2015 FIR CREST VINEYARD PINOT NOIR (Limited)

Dark and expressive, with a nice savory side. This was lovely over several days. Lifted aromatics of forest floor, black and purple fruits, powerful without being lush. Excellent side notes of tar, blueberries, and violets, counterbalanced by a savory woodsy stem component. Shows the robustness of the vintage, but keeps the balance and becomes a balanced but powerful wine. Especially with air, this really dials in the rich fruit of the AVA but still finely chiseled. Drink now, with decanting, through 2027. I would expect this to benefit from decanting for at least 4-5 more years. While 5 years in bottle, it reads as just approaching the early stages of adulthood now.

110 cases produced.

Lewman Vineyard

2018 LEWMAN VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Bright, pretty red fruits: cherry, raspberry, strawberry and pomegranate, rose pastilles, and orange peel. Rooibos tea, red apple skin, summer forest, spice, sage, thyme, and pipe tobacco. Juicy red fruits in the mouth, with a clean glassy texture. Brown spices, expanding with air, silky, with fine, dusty tannins.

113 cases produced. 

2018 OLD-VINE POMMARD, LEWMAN VINEYARD PINOT NOIR - SOLD OUT

Rich red fruits on opening lean up and turn red-blue with air, cocoa, dried flowers in the attic, graphite, red loamy earth. Heady and textural on opening, with sweet spices, amaro, more dry earth, and leather, giving way to savory herbs and mineral. With air it becomes a paragon of restraint, beautiful currant and pomegranate. One of my favorite wines from 2018, please don’t skip this.

55 cases produced.

2018 HERITAGE NO.14, LEWMAN VINEYARD PINOT NOIR - SOLD OUT

Expressive woodsy notes, seamlessly pleasurable, cocoa, with lilac and pretty red-blue fruits, earth and baking spices. Plush on opening, this wine sheds it’s baby fat to reveal taut red fruits, extraordinary finesse, and perfect balance. Blueberry/blackberry, deep red cherry and hints of cacao, add in iron filings after a few hours, and a bright mouthwatering finish of fine tannins and red currant acidity.

55 cases produced.

Temperance Hill Vineyard

2018 TEMPERANCE HILL PINOT NOIR

Red fruited and mineral, expressive and elegant nose with cedar, cinnamon and perfume, raspberry leaf, savory, thyme, strawberries, dried rose petals and potpourri. Violets, red cherry, gardenias, bright and clean with mid-weight fruit, nerve and pull and an amaro-esque, mineral finish. Tightly wound right now but opens beautifully with air.

100 cases produced.

2018 UPPER BENCH, TEMPERANCE HILL PINOT NOIR

One of the coolest wines we have produced. The Upper Bench Block fruit was a small section, just a couple of rows, and when we finally picked it the total tonnage was .35 tons. We popped the head out of an old barrique and fermented it in wood at 100% whole cluster. With free run and hand squeezing for press wine, we had one barrel and a gallon for topping wine. This opens with bright red cherries, herbs de Provence, and roses. With air it masquerades as an old world red, still cherry and pomegranate, with hints of stone pine, old iron, rocks, and slight bitter herbs. The palate is compact for now, but juicy sour cherry, steel, and savory herbs. The acid and tannin balance is just right for the Negroni lover.

25 cases produced.

2018 PUMPHOUSE BLOCK, TEMPERANCE HILL PINOT NOIR

Red and black fruit, beautifully expressive, Nebbiolo-like, rocky, fresh roses, kitchen spices, balances deep fruits with tremendous tension. Structured and mineral with leather, amaro, exotic spice, cedar wood, tobacco, coffee and perfume. The classic iron fist in the velvet glove. Opens with depth and weight, becomes finer in the mid-palate, with more mineral and fine, firm tannins on the finish. Compelling now, this wine will be a powerhouse as it ages over the next decade, with a long life after that.

55 cases produced.

Durant Vineyard

2018 DUNDEE HILLS CHARDONNAY

Lime flower, flint, momentarily smokey, seashells, sage, lemon zest and back to lime flower. 2018 quality is fabulous across the board, and the layering and nuance in this wine (all declassified barrels from Durant Vineyard fruit) is excellent. In the mouth lime, stone, star fruit, seashells, citrus, and chalk. Great finesse, excellent drive, length, and finish. This is a great value and will cellar well for the next 5-10 years, but also drinks well right now.

113 cases produced.

2018 DURANT VINEYARD CHARDONNAY

Lime leaf, verbena, Meyer lemon , papaya, lavender, and fresh green growth. Wonderfully expressive without being obvious; captivating. Floral with an underlying savory tone, seawater, and almonds. Clean, limpid, and coiled, with lemon peel, tonic, and wet stone. A don’t miss wine. Drink now through 2028, maybe longer.

140 cases produced.

2018 DURANT VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Elegant, juicy, and yet serious and with significant spine in the finish. Coffee, pie spice, and marionberry/ boysenberry/ dark cherry fruits. The layering and savory nuance is remarkable. Supremely balanced, this drinks well now with air but should be fabulous from 2024-2034.

160 cases produced.

2018 HERITAGE NO.11, DURANT VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Deeply garnet, beautiful color. Expressive but restrained, begins with red cherries and layers of brown spices. With air, becomes beautifully filigreed, dense yet weightless, loamy earth, thyme, smoke, tobacco, deep red fruits and florals, red satin quality to the nose. Quintessential Dundee Hills. Middle weight, juicy, full fruit, layers of spice yet little sweetness, and very fine savory tannins. Vinous, youthfully exuberant now, but with obvious upside. Tremendous on day two. So good. Drink 2025-2038.

55 cases produced.

2016 HERITAGE NO.8, DURANT VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Elegant, silky and plush, with weight and rich texture. Intense floral notes, tobacco leaf, black tea, leather and wood smoke are layered with a core of pure red fruit: dried strawberry, raspberries and pie cherry. Today this wine is complex, balanced, and profound (especially with a decant) but will continue to expand and improve over the coming decade.

2014 DURANT VINEYARD PINOT NOIR - SOLD OUT

Translucent, beautiful garnet color, moving to clear at the rim. Easy to read the newspaper through. On opening this is wonderfully alluring. Opposite of vintage reputation. Rose petals, red cherry essence, tobacco, subtle notes of earth, brown spices, and herb de Provence. Elegant red fruits(cranberry, cherry, framboise), juicy and rich simultaneously, tannins are fine and subtle. It fills in power with air, but shows no sign of unctuousness or opulence. While quite enjoyable, there is obviously no rush in consumption and further cellaring seems like it will continue through a wonderful life cycle, currently being in early maturity.