From grunt work in France’s Rhône Valley, to winemaker at Turley, to starting and operating his now-85-acre Failla property on the western reaches of Sonoma Coast, Ehren Jordan is a bonafide vigneron. And despite 20 years on the scene, he continues pushing boundaries by crossing them—as in the California-Oregon state line. Be it Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, or Grüner Veltliner, Ehren has come to cherish this terroir for its cool climate and ancient soils. Tack on countless wine accolades and a San Francisco Chronicle ‘Winemaker of the Year’ award, and this 2017 Pinot puts Willamette Valley on an even higher pedestal. 

Ehren employs organic principles in his vineyards, and spent the 2017 growing season pinging back and forth between the four vineyard sites that comprise today’s bottling. Ehren and his team harvested their crop over a five-day period in mid-September and, at the winery, grapes underwent a 30% ‘whole-cluster ‘fermentation via ambient yeasts. The resulting wine aged on its lees in 15% new French oak for 11 months. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered in August of 2018. 

Failla’s 2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir reveals a perfectly toned dark ruby core that slowly fades into soft pink on the rim. Just imagining that these grapes were still hanging on the vine last September is hard to believe, but when you stick your nose in the glass and have a sip, I guarantee its level of purity and vivid aromatics will downright stun you. Though I recommend a 30-60 minute decant, within seconds of opening this wine, breathtakingly refined aromas of crushed raspberries, black cherries, orange peel, purple flowers, pomegranate, rose petals, river rocks, forest floor, and subtle spices were revealed—and these aromas only increased in intensity as the wine soaked up oxygen. The palate is wonderfully smooth and supple with fine-grained, if not crunchy, tannins that serve as the wine’s formidable backbone. How it’s so accessible this early is beyond me—it truly is a delicious treat right now—but I certainly recommend aging several over the next decade in order to reveal further savory components. As for now, serve up in your largest Burgundy stems and let this beautiful wine breathe as you enjoy it over the course of 2-3 hours. Wait for a cooler evening and serve this Failla with David Leite’s preparation of duck risotto—it’s hard to outclass duck and Pinot Noir. Cheers!