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Haden Fig, Pinot Noir, Bjornson Vineyard

Other, United States 2015 (750mL)
$26.00
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Haden Fig, Pinot Noir, Bjornson Vineyard

Within Willamette Valley’s Eola-Amity Hills, Erin Nuccio, the talented young winemaker behind Haden Fig and Evesham Wood, handcrafted just 150 cases of this elegant, single-vineyard Pinot Noir and is releasing it to you for an inconceivably low price. Every time I taste these wines and look at the price tag it blows my mind. 
It’s what I call “value epitomized,” and while the broader ‘Willamette Valley’ designation delivers incredible Pinot Noirs, this bottle takes it multiple steps further by sourcing from one specific, noteworthy vineyard (Bjornson) within the sub-appellation of Eola-Amity Hills. That alone makes it hard enough to believe this Pinot Noir can come in under $40, let alone $30. But, when you tack on sustainable farming and their truly microscopic production, you’re left with a wine that is undeniably one of the all-time great Oregon values, as you’ve undoubtedly discovered through previous Haden Fig offers if you have been a subscriber over the years. Seeing as the world recently caught wind of these stunningly crafted wines, we’ve received far less than our ‘14 allocation, so although we’re still allowing case purchases today, you can expect it to fly off the shelves in record time—act quickly! This is one of the smartest buys of 2018.
You may remember Nuccio’s story from previous offers: He got his start in wine at a retail store in Washington, D.C., then worked in distribution in Boston before following the siren call of the West Coast. He went to enology school in California while also working in vineyards, but he knew his ultimate destination would be Oregon’s Willamette Valley—a place that captured his attention since his first sips of Willamette Pinot back in D.C. He found work with Russ Raney at Oregon’s Evesham Wood (where he remains the winemaker), and simultaneously cultivated a network of vineyard sources with which to launch Haden Fig.

Today’s wine is sourced from the Bjornson Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills, a 28-acre parcel within striking distance of legendary sites like Bethel Heights. Nuccio describes his Bjornson-designate wine as the most “fruit forward” of his offerings, which is almost amusing when you compare this bright, floral and Burgundy-esque effort with the horde of fruit-bomb Pinots gunning for big scores on the West Coast. If anything, this wine makes a convincing case for the superiority of Willamette Valley as a Pinot Noir terroir, with its more northerly latitude and cooler climate; most California Pinot harvesting is usually already finished before Willamette’s even begins. This longer hang time is evident in wines like Nuccio’s, which has been given the time to develop aromatic complexity and physiological maturity without becoming over-ripe.

This is especially true in the Eola-Amity hills, which sit almost smack in the middle of the broader Willamette Valley, at the receiving end of the Van Duzer corridor. This break in Oregon’s coastal range (and, a well-traveled tourist route) funnels Pacific air inland, and this cooling influence, combined with a heavier presence of volcanic basalt in Eola-Amity’s soils, lend wines from sites like Bjornson their characteristic nerve and detail.

Rule number one: pull the cork and wait one hour minimum before diving into this delicious Pinot Noir. Whereas 2014 showcase darker, even richer notes, the 2015 thrives on its finesse and elegance while revealing (after oxygen exposure) a classic, high-toned mix of wild strawberry, ripe red and black plums, Bing cherry, and raspberries intermingled with savory notes of forest floor, damp bark, wet roses, and crushed tones. Imagine picking wild berries in a forest post-rainfall—taking in all the aromas of petrichor, damp leaves, tasting the perfectly ripe fruits: that’s the sensory experience this wine brings. Silky and medium-bodied, I’d be tempted to mistake this wine for a village-level Burgundy, but there’s a touch of additional cleanliness and ripeness here that sends me back to Willamette. For me, this wine is ready to drink now and over the next few years, though if you are building a cellar it will effortlessly age for a decade, gaining complexity each year. Serve around 60 degrees in Burgundy stems and swirl with vigor to release its amazing bouquet while enjoying a cranberry-glazed pork roast. Cheers!
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Country
United States
Region
Other
Sub-Region
United StatesEola-Amity Hills
Soil
Volcanic Basalt
Farming
LIVE Certified (Sustainable)
Blend
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
Partial New French
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
One Hour

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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