Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 88

US NEW RELEASES
Dundee Hills site, this has an old-vine grace
and balance. It leads with aromas of spice,
tobacco, anise, rye grain and soil, all in the
service of restrained cherry. The flavors are
cool, elegant and finely wrought, with succulent ripeness. It feels natural and effortless;
for duck. (98 cases) -P.J.C.

518177

94 | Lingua Franca

$60

2017 Eola-Amity Hills The Plow Pinot
Noir ^ Larry Stone pulls this from an older
vineyard site in the eastern Eola Hills; he
calls it The Plow as an homage to his growers. It's old-school in its soft scents of tobacco
leaf and sassafras, with a complex spice that
doesn't prepare you for the generous concentration of the fruit to come. The flavors
are all dark red cherry expressed with a cool
purity, with fine tannins that add a lasting
leafy autumnal note. (400 cases) -P.J.C.
517411

94 | Walter Scott

$55

2017 Eola-Amity Hills Sojourner Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ This grows at a shallowsoiled volcanic site planted in the 1970s
on the southwest ridge of the Eola Hills. In
2017, it grew a wine with an old-vine feel, a
scent of soil and tamarind adorning macerated-cherry flavors. It's firm, ending on tight
tannins, dusted with chocolate mole and
minerals-a complex wine for a complex
dish, like mole poblano. (445 cases) -P.J.C.

fruit sleek as a plum, the acids light, the tannins bearing a fine grip, the wine well suited
to a mushroom tart. (250 cases) -P.J.C.
517740

93 | Big Table Farm

$62

93 | Bryn Mawr

$65

2017 Eola-Amity Hills Pelos Sandberg
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Big Table has been purchasing fruit from the same blocks of Pelos
Sandberg since 2010, and it's often our topscoring wine from the winery. The 2017 lines
its core of dark cherry flavor with dusty rose
scents and a mild tanbark earthiness, the
savory elements as compelling as the fruit.
Direct the tannins at roast duck. -P.J.C.
517487
2016 Eola-Amity Hills Reserve Pinot Noir ^
Like the other Bryn Mawr pinots reviewed
here, this feels bright and lifted, even as its
texture is substantial. Flavors of pomegranate and strawberry lead the way, dusted with
herbes de Provence; it's tightly wound but the
tannins are plush, the wine light enough to
pair with sea bream. (125 cases) -P.J.C.
517490

93 | Bryn Mawr

$50

2016 Eola-Amity Hills Jeffrey's Block
Pinot Noir ^ From the estate's oldest blocks,
planted from 1994 to 1997, this has a heady
richness to its plum-and-black-cherry flavors,
and a healthy rasher of oak. By day two, the
wine's exuberance has settled a bit, replaced
by an assertive fruit presence, vibrant and
juicy, leavened by the site's shallow-soiled,
mineral signature. (125 cases) -P.J.C.

518029

93 | J. Christopher

$30

$85

2016 Chehalem Mountains Basalte Pinot
Noir (Best Buy) ^ Rye, whole-cluster spice and
cranberry scents lead in this well-priced, light
red. It's spicy and structured, with a pleasing grip that seems to hold the red fruit in a
light suspension, charming and expressive.
For braised beef. (1,400 cases) -P.J.C.
518039

2017 Chehalem Mountains Winery Block
Pinot Noir ^ Churning and complex, this
needs air to come into focus, its notes of
purple herbs, dark oak and dark fruit locking horns at first. Then it becomes silky, the

2016 Dundee Hills Charlie's Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ From one of Jay Somers's original vineyard sources, this wine demonstrates
the simple beauty and charm of a J. Chris-

517830

93 | Bergström

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

93 | J. Christopher

$52

topher pinot. It feels generous and forward
but also a touch resinous and savory, leavened by scents of cedar, red earth and dried
mushroom. The umami elements seem to
lengthen the flavors, for a finish that's generous and vibrant. (70 cases) -P.J.C.

518178

93 | Lingua Franca

$90

93 | Lingua Franca

$40

93 | Lingua Franca

$60

93 | Rose & Arrow

$100

2017 Eola-Amity Hills Mimi's Mind Pinot
Noir ^ Everything about this wine feels delicate, lucid and precise. It's sourced from
Mimi Casteel's meticulously farmed site not
far from the Lingua Franca winery. Its scents
reflect whole-cluster spice, with black tea and
bergamot accents, while the flavors are limpid strawberry-rhubarb and red cherry, with
a grip that reflects the shallow soils of the
eastern Eola Hills. Cellar it, then decant a
bottle for roast trout. (356 cases) -P.J.C.
518181
2017 Willamette Valley Avni Pinot Noir ^
Avni is built around Larry Stone's estate vineyard in the Eola Hills, and supplemented by
similar sites. Even though it's Stone's entrylevel wine, it's not simple; instead it reflects
the shallow soils of the Eola-Amity Hills in
all their mineral tension: The wine is bright
and tightly packed, weaving rose-petal notes
and whole-cluster spice with dark plum-skin
flavors. It sustains a lovely vibrancy of flavor,
grounded and direct. (2,300 cases) -P.J.C.
518180
2017 Eola-Amity Hills La Bete Pinot Noir ^
With a formidable build, this seems like a
wine made for aging, but it's already compelling, with scents of beef consommé, black
tea and clove over flavors of plum and cherry,
and sumptuous oak molding the contours of
the fruit. Cellar. (175 cases) -P.J.C.
517956
2017 Yamhill-Carlton Yamhill Close Pinot
Noir ^ This comes from a tiny sliver of a vineyard block composed of what the Rose &
Arrow team terms "alterite" soils: volcanic
strata that haven't yet decomposed into
soil. It's a succulent red with a warm savor,
aromas of cured meats overlaying the dark,
plummy fruit. It feels broad and saturating,

https://www.linguafranca.wine/product/Mimi-s-Mind?pageID=367755BC-A7EE-4717-81A6-724E0BD242E2&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=100&&productListName=All%20Wines&position=7 https://www.linguafranca.wine/Wines/All-Wines http://jchristopherwines.orderport.net/product-details/0064/2015-Basalte-Pinot-Noir https://wineshop.bergstromwines.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showdrilldown&productid=44B9D9D0-899C-4931-BBBD-FD32969302D3&ProductCategoryID=ebddcb59-d4ac-cc9c-58b0-2c9c654839cc&WineryID=1E4EB6D1-AD19-D545-B354-03D0956A116F&WineTypeID=&ProductType=&wineVarietalID=&wineRegionID=&vintage=&lowprice=&highPrice=&WineBrandID=&WineAppellationID=&lowletter=&highletter=&OrderBy=PXPC.DisplayOrder%20Asc,%20P.ProductName%20ASC&ShippingState=OR

Wine & Spirits - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2019