High-quality Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is no longer a closely-held secret: The world is now privy to these inexpensive, Burgundy-toppling gems and as demand rises, it’s becoming increasingly hard to acquire a perfectly preserved library release from any producer. That’s especially the case for Ayres, a small-scale Pinot Noir artisan who’s become our go-to when proving that Oregon belongs in the uppermost echelon of fine wine. And today’s rare opportunity is the most thrilling treat we’ve ever had from them: The final 25-case trove of 2013 “Pioneer” directly from terroir-master Brad McLeroy’s cellar door. And the most shocking bit of all? It costs exactly what it did on release five years ago: $39.

A Burgundy of this provenance, age, and quality would cost $75, at the bare minimum! Stick your nose in the glass and tell me that this eight-year-old stunner doesn’t emit some of the noblest, soul-stirring aromatics imaginable. It is so elegant and vigorous, showcasing superb integration and a nuanced mineral imprint to its intense forest fruit. This is the “darkest” of Brad’s micro-batch Pinots, and now, years of evolution have morphed it into one of the best Pinot Noirs values in the valley. It bears repeating that 250 cases were made for the entire globe eight years ago, and this 25-case tranche, still maturing in its original home, is all that remains—save for a few bottles we’ve stashed away for personal consumption!

We’re huge fans of this ‘mom-and-pop’ winery and believe that some serious magic is happening within their Ribbon Ridge vineyards. Ribbon Ridge is a pretty magical place by itself: It’s an outlier region, and also the smallest, of the Willamette Valley, tucked into the western tip of the greater Chehalem Mountains. You don’t hear as much chatter about Ribbon Ridge as you do the Dundee Hills or the Eola-Amity Hills, but what you do hear tends to be glowing. Harry Peterson-Nedry of Chehalem Winery is Ribbon Ridge’s great frontiersman, planting its first vineyard (Ridgecrest) in 1980. There are now some very big names in Ribbon Ridge, including Beaux Frères (founded in 1986) and the great Patricia Green, who arrived the same year (2000) as Brad and Kathleen McLeroy of Ayes. After several years making wine under the brilliant wing of Veronique Drouhin (Domaine Drouhin) in the heart of the Dundee Hills, Brad McLeroy started out with just a few acres and has since built it to 20, mostly east-facing vines on ancient Willakenzie sediments. McLeroy is a stubborn, terroir-hoarding purist and by sticking to his game, he is making some of the most sublime Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley. 

Unlike the other sub-appellations of the Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge is a distinguished natural geological formation of uniform soils—a unique seabed uplift from the northwest peak of the Chehalem Mountains. It’s not the coolest place in the Willamette, nor is it the warmest, but it hangs its hat on being one of the driest, with a long consistent growing season, less susceptible to temperature spikes and uneven ripening. And with Pinot Noir, the less climatic twists and turns, the better. Ayres is the name of the estate as well as the vineyard, and “Pioneer” is a special block within Ayres, representing McLeroy’s oldest plantings of Pinot Noir (in 2001). It’s pure Dijon Clone 667, which means dark-fruited, plush Pinot Noir, but it’s far from thick and glossy. The Ayres style is remarkably light-handed.   

The McLeroys are the fortunate gatekeepers of their land. They farm their own vines, they make the wines on-site, and they live there (it doesn’t get more “artisanal” than that). No herbicides, nor pesticides have ever been used at the Ayres farm. All the vineyards are dry-farmed implementing organic practices, and the estate has been certified sustainable since 2007. For the 2013 “Pioneer,” hand-harvested fruit (picked the day before a seven-inch deluge!) fermented with natural yeasts, with a small portion of whole-cluster fruit to enliven texture and add complexity in the finished wine. Before bottling, the wine spent just under one year in French oak barrels, 20% new. 

Choose a large Burgundy stem and pull the wine from a cool cellar temperature around 55 degrees. After a 20-minute decant, the wine will warm slightly, and the aromas will begin to loosen and stretch. In the glass, Ayres’ 2013 “Pioneer” reveals a deep ruby core with flashes of bright magenta on the rim. Intense aromas spill out of the glass in the form of ripe black cherry, huckleberry, black raspberry, boysenberry, spiced plum, crushed rose, damp forest floor, and soft baking spices. But eight years of age has also added several fine layers of savory earth, hints of mushroom, and dried tea leaves—spectacular enhancements to an already supple, complex Pinot Noir. On the palate, Ayres “Pioneer” separates itself from the masses with soft-blanket textures, finely crushed minerals, and an imposing core of dried and ripe bush berries. Enjoy over the next couple of years and “accidentally” forget about a bottle or two until 2030. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised upon re-discovering it...