There is no artifice or insincerity here, and the only bull expletive you’ll find is used as fertilizer from their own herd of cattle. In other words, if you’re after aromatically pure, soul-lifting Pinot Noir from the heart of pastoral Oregon, Big Table Farm is it. We’ve tracked their success story for some time now (they added “Winery of the Year” to their list of accolades in 2018), and every allocation we’ve managed to get ahold of has disappeared at the drop of a hat. Their Willamette Valley Pinot expresses so much: pure, lush, Pacific-kissed fruit from their top eight sites, all of which are treated with the same level of high-quality care from bud break to harvest. These wines are elegantly rich, poised, and a resounding “yes” to the question: “Can Oregon Pinot Noir compete at the highest level?” As always, our batch is coming 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. 

[*NOTE: This winery-direct offer will be arriving at our temperature-controlled warehouse on April 30th.]

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 (less than 2% new) for just under one year. It is bottled unfined, unfiltered, and each annually rotating, hand-applied label is designed by Clare. This year, pigs Sam and Rick earned the spotlight!

Admittedly, we polished off our sample pours within a few minutes of the wine being opened, but if you'd like to practice some patience and do things a bit more...refined, decant for at least 30 minutes and break out your finest Burgundy stems. Whichever path you choose, we guarantee that Big Table Farm’s 2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir will emit its signature high-toned aromas. You’ll discover a beautiful mix of black raspberry, ripe black cherry, licorice, sweet spices, wild strawberries, rose water, kola nut, and orange zest. The palate is incredibly lush, taking no time to reveal a hedonistic core of plump forest fruit alongside supple waves of pulverized minerality and savory underbrush. If my memory serves me correctly, this ‘18 is the most luxuriously layered bottling in recent vintages, and it is nothing short of sensational. Enjoy now and save a few for consumption around 2023-2028—we think a few more years in bottle will work wonders for this already brilliant wine. Cheers!