Are you an Oregon Pinot fan? Have you heard of Yamhill Valley Vineyards? If you answered yes, and then no, you’re exactly like me. Despite a history that goes back to the early second wave of wineries in the Willamette Valley that sprang up in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, this family owned and operated estate has largely flown under the radar for the past 40 years. For that reason we were skeptical when it hit the tasting table, but we should not have been. This is knockout Willamette Pinot, with old-school charm and balance, and that textbook combination of silky, ripe red fruits and savory, umami laden earth that Oregon is famous for. And the throwback styling and label comes with a bonus: throwback pricing to match! It ranks at the very top of value driven Oregon Pinot that we have ever offered, and we’ve offered almost all of the best!
The wide world of wine is full of surprises: now matter how much you know there’s always more to learn. Take Oregon’s Willamette Valley–this region has seen an explosion of wineries in the past 30-40 years starting in the late 1980s, but before that there were just a couple dozen producers. Given that I thought I knew pretty much all of them. Names like Eyrie, Beaux Fréres, HillCrest, Sokol, Shea, Elk Cove, Ponzi and Erath are all household labels, and most of them have been given the spotlight at SommSelect over the years. But not Yamhill Valley Vineyards. The name alone suggests that this is not an up and comer, and yet it was brand to me and the whole team. How the wine had never crossed our paths is a mystery, but the important thing is that now we know, and we're all the better for it!
In the early 1980s Denis Burger and Elaine McCall decided that they wanted to learn about grape growing and winemaking from the ground up, so they decided to search for a spot of land nearby. They had been inspired by the wines of the still very young Yamhill Valley growers, and so that is where they focused their search. After answering an ad in the newspaper they found the perfect spot in the McMinnville area, and vines were planted. They produced their first wine in 1983, using a bit of space at the Sokol winery, and a couple years later they brought Pinot Noir expert Stephen Cary onto the team where he remained as head winemaker for 24 years. Today Ariel Eberle leads the team as head winemaker, continuing the long tradition of excellence.
The Estate Pinot Noir is a proprietary blend coming from the range of parcels that Yamhill Valley owns and farms in the McMinnville AVA. Each vintage brings its own unique challenges, and in 2022 that was spring frost that reduced yields, and continued cold weather that delayed flowering. But the mid and late summer was exceptionally warm and dry, which allowed for a very late harvest that began in early October. This longer hang time led to perfectly ripe grapes that had an excellent balance of tannic structure and bright acidity. As always all the fruit was hand harvested before crushing and fermentation. In this vintage about 30% of whole clusters were used. The finished wine was aged for 10 months in oak barrels, both new and old, before Ariel and her team assembled the final blend, moving the wine back into tanks before bottling.
The late start and long hang time of 2022 resulted in a wine of excellent balance, complexity, and length. Despite being just their “entry level” cuvée, I would treat this like a top tier Pinot Noir. A decant of 30 minutes, followed by service at cellar temperature in a big Burgundy glass is highly recommended. The brilliant, garnet red hue with hints of magenta and blood orange opens up quickly after decanting, with aromas of ripe cherries, wild strawberries, black currants, dried rose petals, porcini, cocoa powder, earth, and damp pine. The tannins are silky and integrated, though just firm enough that when added to the lovely, bright acidity they suggest that this wine will easily improve for another five to ten years. That’s a whole lot of Pinot for $30, so it would be wise to grab this beauty by the case or cases!
