Oregon

Country: US / Pishon Bloc Variety: Pinot Noir Oregon Winery: Reustle / Umpqua Valley A pretty faded rose color, this delicate wine shows very light raspberry and cherry fruit, with moderate, tea-flavored tannins, and barrel-generated streaks of coffee and dark chocolate.

Country: US / Block 7 Variety: Pinot Noir Oregon Winery: Shea / Willamette Valley Featuring the Wädenswil clone, this block selection carries a whiff of wintergreen and lavender. That minty lift elevates the palate’s pretty cherry fruit. It’s a harmonious wine, with perfectly proportioned acids and a faint truffle note as it fades gracefully.

Country: US / Brittan Vineyard Variety: Pinot Noir Oregon Winery: Ayoub / McMinnville Stone, mineral and metal highlights combine around tight cranberry and raspberry fruit. Concentrated and compact, this distinctive bottling is bone-dry. Drink 2020–2030.

Country: US / Variety: Chardonnay Oregon Winery: Ayoub / Dundee Hills The fruit is sourced from the Thistle and Hyland estate vineyards. It’s an intense, concentrated wine, with a complex mix of mineral, lime, apple and light tropical fruit. It’s textural, creamy and impressively long.

Country: US / Estate Variety: Chardonnay Oregon Winery: Alloro / Chehalem Mountains Initially this may strike some tasters as an unusual expression, but give it a chance and it may well become a favorite. There’s an interesting component of crushed flowers in aroma and flavor, along with nut oil, butterscotch, pineapple and apple butter. It’s […]

Country: US / Ribbon Springs Vineyard Variety: Pinot Noir Oregon Winery: Adelsheim / Ribbon Ridge Among the impressive single-vineyard Adelsheim Pinots, this is the only one from this tiny AVA. It’s loaded with bright, sparky cranberry and raspberry fruit, whose juicy flavors hit the palate’s bullseye. The penetrating power is underscored with minerally acidity. Drink […]

Country: US / Bryan Creek Vineyard Variety: Pinot Noir Oregon Winery: Adelsheim / Chehalem Mountains Young and tight, this is packed with bright berry fruit annotated with brown spices. There are streaks of sandalwood and mocha, and the flavors smooth out nicely as it glides into a lingering, delicious finish.

Country: US / Élevée Vineyard Variety: Pinot Noir Oregon Winery: Élevée Winegrowers / Dundee Hills Sourced from a vineyard planted by Gary Andrus in 1998, this elegant and expressive wine is shaded a lovely rose tone, and scents of rose petals and ripe cherries emerge instantly from the glass. It’s well defined, balanced and detailed […]

Country: US / Homer Variety: Pinot Noir Oregon Winery: Shea / Willamette Valley Homer is the reserve cuvée, a barrel-selection seemingly chosen for a bit of extra concentration. It retains its elegance, with scents of lavender, incense and Asian spices leading into bright, intense flavors of cherry and plum. The wine gathers itself in the […]

Country: US / Variety: Pinot Noir Oregon Winery: Iris Vineyards / Oregon Strongly herbal, peppery and showing more than a hint of stem, this raspberry and root-beer style of Pinot hits the palate a bit sharp, and does a quick fade.

Country: US / Estate Variety: Tempranillo Oregon Winery: Abacela / Southern Oregon Abacela’s tenth vintage of Tempranillo suggests it’s time to call the “experiment” a success. It’s savory and scented with cured meats; a spicy red that marries black currant fruit to pepper and more exotic spices—curry, cumin and five spice. Tannins are tongue-scrapingly dry, […]

Country: US / Freedom Hill Vineyard Variety: Pinot Noir Oregon Winery: Panther Creek / Willamette Valley Lovely scents of blue and black berries open into an excellent wine from this well-known vineyard. Cherry cola and molasses flesh out the midpalate flavors, and the fruit has a brambly quality that is almost like Zinfandel. Expressive and […]