This particular winery is a testament to the quality coming out of Willamette, particularly the Dundee Hills, as well as the bargain; Winderlea’s wines could easily hold their own with $100+ premier cru Burgundies at a fraction of the price. In Oregon, the wines are a bargain, there are myriad talented winemakers that honor tradition, but the unique sense of place truly offers a terroir that is inimitable. The complexity of Oregon’s Willamette Valley is millennia in the making. Thanks to an ancient lava eruption, the Missoula Floods and the shifting of tectonic plates over the Willamette Valley’s history, the complex geology in this pocket of the world cannot be replicated. The Dundee Hills appellation within Willamette Valley is arguably the most complex of all soils in the valley. The primary soil is referred to as “Jory;” Jory boasts myriad elements, but is predominantly volcanic red clay loam. The terroir of Dundee Hills is capable of yielding reds with a tantalizing elegance that can, on occasion, rival the great wines of Burgundy. Further, the latitude of the region matches that of Burgundy, which delivers a climate that forces Pinot Noir to struggle and consequently achieve the varietal’s most divine expression.

 

Winderlea honors the varietal’s Burgundian roots in their organically and biodynamically-farmed vineyard as well as the cellar by specializing in small lot, vineyard-specific wines along with incredibly traditional winemaking techniques as is custom in Pinot Noirs roots in Burgundy. Winderlea’s “Imprint” is fermented with whole clusters then is aged in only 20% new French oak for 18 months, an approach also commonly used in the best wines of Burgundy. The 2012 vintage yielded luscious wines, which offer the classic balance we search for in the very greatest examples of Oregon Pinot.