Placeholder Image
SommSelect

Love & Squalor, Pinot Noir

Oregon, United States 2014 (750mL)
$28.00
/
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol
SommSelect

Love & Squalor, Pinot Noir

Looking back at what many Willamette Valley vintners had to say after the 2014 harvest, it’s clear that the blessings of this “vintage of a lifetime” were mixed—this was a vintage marked by both superior quality and plentiful quantity, leaving producers at once thrilled with the resulting wines and vexed as to how they were going to sell through them.
Did 2014’s abundance play a role in this stunning Pinot Noir from Love & Squalor costing less than $30? Perhaps. But, then again, this kind of quality-to-price ratio (i.e. HIGH) is something we’ve gotten used to in Willamette Valley wines. We’ve already offered a slew of Oregon over-achievers this year, and this one’s a headliner: Crafted by young winemaker Matt Berson, this 2014 boasts a level of aromatic complexity, structure, and refinement that is simply unheard-of at this price. As I’ve said before, no Pinot Noir-focused region—not even my beloved Burgundy—can match the Willamette Valley when it comes to value for dollar. This is a wine to purchase in case quantities, to enjoy now and over the next few years; if you’re a Pinot Noir lover, the first sip will make instantly clear what a remarkable find you’ve got on your hands.
The appeal of this wine is only enhanced by its story, as told with irreverence and humility by its maker, Berson. “I used to wait tables and drink wine after work,” says Berson, in his website bio (for more reading, go here). “Now I make wine and drink during work.” After spending many years as an itinerant cellar rat, learning winemaking from a diverse array of mentors in several countries, Berson began forging relationships with Willamette Valley grape-growers and making wines—initially in a dark corner of someone else’s cellar. In 2007, he produced 65 cases; in 2014 it had grown to 1,800 cases. Berson now works out of a shared winemaking facility in downtown McMinnville, still focusing on Pinot Noir and Riesling from a wide assortment of Willamette Valley growers.
 
The 2014 Love & Squalor, for example, is a multi-vineyard, multi-appellation blend, sourced from seven different vineyards—which vary in terms of soil, altitude, and age. The predominant soil types in the Willamette Valley are volcanic and sedimentary, with the former lending minerality and structure and the latter lending volume. Among the vineyards that factor into this wine are the Temperance Hill Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills (arguably one of Willamette Valley’s greatest sites); the Vista Hills Vineyard in the Dundee Hills; and the Cherry Grove Vineyard in Gaston (a 20-acre site in the Yamhill-Carlton district with a number of other noteworthy clients, including Antica Terra and Roots Wine Company).
 
Berson ferments in small lots, using only the yeasts that arrive in the cellar on the grapes, and he typically incorporates some whole grape clusters (the 2014 Love & Squalor was about 11% ‘whole-cluster’ fermented). “Punch-downs” (the practice of submerging the cap of skins into the fermenting juice) were done manually. The wine was aged in neutral French oak barrels for 18 months before bottling, and was “racked” (transferred from one barrel to another, to clarify and slightly oxygenate the juice) twice during that time.
 
In the glass, the 2014 Love & Squalor Pinot Noir has a deep ruby core moving to magenta at the rim. The nose, as you’d expect from such a powerful vintage, is heady and complex: black cherry, pomegranate, black raspberry, warm spices, forest floor, and a hint of dark chocolate are all part of the aromatic mix. The palate is rich, layered, and framed by acidity that gives the wine a refreshing, palate-enlivening crunch. This is exceptionally well-balanced and mineral Pinot Noir, with no perceptible oak influence and moderate alcohol, and it’s ready to go now: Decant it about 30 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees. My first thought, given where this comes from, is some Pacific Salmon, but its depth and savor will make it a versatile food wine—throw just about any poultry or meat at it (like the attached stuffed pork roast), and it will deliver! This is an amazing wine, plain and simple.
Placeholder Image
Country
United States
Region
Oregon
Sub-Region
United StatesWillamette Valley
Soil
Volcanic and Sedimentary
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
13.8
OAK
Neutral French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2020
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Stuffed Pork Roast

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.

Others We Love