Placeholder Image

Big Table Farm, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Oregon, United States 2017 (750mL)
$45.00
/
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Big Table Farm, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

The folks at Oregon’s Big Table Farm are bonafide masters of Pinot Noir and have quickly become one of the most buzzed-about producers since crafting their first 150-case batch in 2006. We’ve tracked their success story for some time now (they added “Winery of the Year” to their list of accolades in 2018), but last year was our first opportunity to land an allocation that could sustain our growing subscribership. It sold out in a hurry: Their Willamette Valley Pinot expresses so much such a little price, which is why restaurants and collectors are snatching up this “entry-level” bottling at an alarming pace. Due to the demand, Big Table Farm can’t hold inventory from past vintages, so you can imagine just how long this newly released ’17 will last.
For the uninitiated: What you’re getting in this classic Willamette Valley Pinot is pure, lush, Pacific-kissed fruit from Brian’s top eight sites, all of which are treated with the same level of high-quality care from bud break to harvest. His wines are elegantly rich, poised, and a resounding “yes” to the question: “Can Oregon compete with Burgundy’s finest?” We are fortunate to have a small amount of ‘17 come directly from their winery—just like the minimal intervention in these farm-to-table wines, it’s best to have as few hands and stops as possible when getting the wine to your doorstep. This is one of the hottest, still-affordable Pinot Noirs in America right now, so don’t pass it up!
[*NOTE: This is coming directly from the winery and will be arriving at our temperature-controlled warehouse the week of July 15th.]

With previous positions at high-profile Napa wineries like Marcassin and Blankiet Estate, Brian Marcy is no stranger to the spotlight. But, when he and his wife Clare wanted to expand their “farm”—which in 2005 consisted of chickens running amok in the backyard of their small home—they jointly agreed to move away from Napa’s exorbitantly priced real estate and try their luck in Oregon. They found solace an hour’s drive from Portland, in the small town of Gaston, ideally wedged between the sub-AVAs of Chehalem Mountain and Yamhill-Carlton District. They realized their dream in short order and now their 70 acres and 1890s-era farmhouse is replete with livestock, crops, beehives, grapevines...they’re running a full-fledged, self-sustaining farm. 

But we’re not here to buy meat or honey (not today, anyway) so let’s get to the wine: As mentioned, they craft several different vineyard-designate wines, but their “Willamette Valley” bottling pulls from each of their eight Pinot Noir sites, all of which are located in the central and northern sections of the valley. Brian’s philosophy for this bottle is a much-needed breath of fresh air: “It would be arrogant of me to think I could predict which fruit will turn into the best wine,” he says, “so I treat all with equal diligence.” After hand harvesting, the fruit sees a long, ‘whole-cluster’ fermentation via indigenous yeasts and aging occurs in mostly neutral French oak  (20% new) for just under one year. It is bottled unfined, unfiltered, and each annually rotating, hand-applied label is designed by Clare, a certified jack (queen?) of all trades.

For the 2016 vintage last year, we mentioned that you should gently decant the wine and allow it to rest undisturbed for an hour before consumption. For the newest release? “Do not go gentle into that good night!” If enjoying in the near-term, we found Big Table Farm’s 2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir performed greatest by turning the bottle completely upside down and ‘glug-glugging’ the wine into the decanter. The ferocious cascade of wine funneling into the decanter will allow for maximum oxygen integration, which in turn softens the wine. Within 30 minutes of doing this, the wine was singing a beautifully lovely tune. Around 60 degrees in bulbous Burgundy stems, fresh black raspberries, black cherry liqueur, and fresh wild strawberries blasted out of the glass, followed by a harmonious chorus of underbrush, citrus zest, moss, soft spices, black tea, red licorice, and dewy rose petals. It’s a stylish, medium-plus bodied wine that glides across the palate with dainty pointe shoes. Just watch the layers unfold as the wine opens up in your glass—it’s a magnificent Pinot Noir that delivers mesmerizingly lush fruit, savory minerality, and vigor. Trying to think up a memorable event for an upcoming special occasion? Follow the attached recipe and open a bottle of Big Table Farm. That’s about as good as it gets. Cheers!
Placeholder Image
Country
United States
Region
Oregon
Sub-Region
United StatesWillamette Valley
Soil
Volcanic & Sedimentary
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Pinot Noir 100%
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
20% New French Barrels
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Large Burgundy Stem
Drinking
Now-2030
Decanting
30+ Minutes
Pairing
Seared Duck w/ Smoked Blood Orange

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