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Le Cadeau Vineyard, “Rocheux” Pinot Noir

Other, United States 2016 (750mL)
$45.00
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Le Cadeau Vineyard, “Rocheux” Pinot Noir

Back in the 1990s, Tom and Deb Mortimer trekked up the south side of Parrett Mountain, within the Chehalem Mountain AVA, and discovered a 28-acre haven—wishful thinking, at the time. In reality, it was thick Oregonian wilderness without neighbors for miles. But, to them, this mountainside plot was the prime location—the only location—for their Le Cadeau Pinot Noir project, and after several years of backbreaking work, their small vineyard was born.
Since then, they have crafted several different cuvées from unique sections of this 16-acre vineyard and today’s “Rocheux”—‘rocky’ in French—is from its stony west side. It’s the deeper, richer wine of the Le Cadeau bunch, and what a wine it is! Intensely aromatic and mouthwateringly lush on the palate, this 2016 preserves Willamette’s purity of fruit alongside impressive levels of refreshing acidity and savor; it’s everything ‘New World’ Pinot does correctly. “Rocheux” jumps to the fore of Oregon Pinot Noirs, but with a luxuriously poised style. Step right up to bat if you want a sub-$50 wine that tastes like $100. With the countless hours and dollars they’ve poured into this taxing project, it deserves to be priced in the triple digits! 
The Mortimers—Tom is a Burgundy fanatic—have been focused on Pinot Noir since day one. Apart from discovering this “new frontier,” cleaning it up, planting vines, and building a homestead amongst them, the wines are deliciously made—forward, ample, smooth, and always equipped with a clear identity. We always hear “the more grapes struggle, the better off they are” and if that’s the case, Le Cadeau’s estate vineyard produces some of the finest Pinot Noir in the country. Theirs is locally known as the rockiest site in Oregon—if you’re out in the vineyard, you’ll more than likely stumble on a few. Deb even coined a nickname for the site: the “Black Hole Vineyard,” due to all the resources it sucked up! 2002 was their first vintage and they’ve been full steam ahead ever since, with new projects to come (sneak preview: they have a small plot of young Chardonnay vines and their 2017 is still in barrel). 

Le Cadeau only makes wines from their single estate vineyard and their different cuvées can be seen in this vineyard breakdown. Grapes are handpicked throughout several passes and there is a heavy focus to farm sustainably. For 2016, Jim Sanders—a longtime Oregon winemaker who first started at Beaux Frères—oversaw the winemaking for “Rocheux.” The grapes fermented over the course of several weeks in stainless steel tanks and the resulting wine was transferred into French barrels, 42% of which were new. It was bottled unfined with a light filtering. Only seven barrels were produced. 

Le Cadeau Vineyard’s 2016 “Rocheux” displays a dark ruby core with soft pink and magenta reflections on the rim. Immediately, it rolls out plush layers of beautifully rich and fresh aromas of black cherry liqueur, forest floor, pine needles, blackcurrant, black raspberry, black tea, blueberry, strawberry jam, crushed rocks, and sweet notes of baking spice. As you may have guessed, the palate is medium-plus-bodied and generous, led by a velvety mouthfeel with firm, unassertive tannins. It is impressively luxurious and smooth right out of the gate—we were licking our lips the second it touched our glasses, but a 30-minute decant is perhaps the best approach here. “Rocheux” will sing sweet tunes over the next 5-10 years with its best drinking (if not already now) coming around 2020. When consuming, serve in large Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees and share with friends, because this goes down with extreme ease. The attached roasted duck recipe will be a perfect match for this opulent Pinot. Cheers!
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Country
United States
Region
Other
Sub-Region
United StatesChehalem Mountains
Soil
Rocky Volcanic Basalt
Farming
Sustainable Practices
Blend
Pinot Noir 100%
Alcohol
14.1
OAK
42% New French
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Large Burgundy Stem
Drinking
Now-2026
Decanting
30-60 Minutes

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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