1 | Wine | Willamette, 86 or higher, 2010

"Spice-accented aromas of black raspberry, cherry, sassafras and anise, with a smoky nuance building with air. Sappy and expansive, offering dark berry and bitter cherry flavors and a hint of vanilla. Closes with very good breadth and focus, leaving vanilla and peppery spice notes behind."

"Light, bright red. Red berry and floral scents are complemented by cinnamon and black tea. Racy and light on its feet, offering vibrant redcurrant and strawberry flavors and a touch of bitter herbs. Finishes tangy and lucid, leaving spice and floral notes behind."

"Adding Johan Vineyard to the roster of four sites that informed this cuvee’s previous edition, the Ransom 2010 Pinot Noir Selection – tasted in a close approximation to its final assemblage – delivers downright refreshingly as well as invigoratingly tangy red currant and fraises des bois, tinged with coriander seed, nutmeg, and rose hip. Buoyant to the point of delicacy, this finishes with mouthwatering persistence and is sure on release to represent an outstanding value that can be enjoyed over at least the next half dozen years."

"Lively red berries and cherry on the nose, with notes of fresh flowers and cola adding complexity. Bright, racy strawberry and raspberry flavors give way to a deeper bitter cherry quality in the mid-palate, with tangy orange zest adding cut. Finishes floral and piquant, leaving a hint of white pepper behind."

"Cherry and tart red currant dominate the Chehalem 2010 Pinot Noir Three Vineyard which, as its name implies, incorporates fruit from all three estate locations, and essentially represents those barrels that weren’t selected to inform single vineyard bottlings. Buoyant, bright, and refreshing, it finishes with penetrating persistence allied to piquant nuttiness, if ultimately without a lot of complexity."

"Vivid red. A sexy, heady bouquet evokes black raspberry and cherry compote, with Asian spice and sandalwood nuances gaining strength with air. The palate offers intense red berry and floral pastille flavors, along with spicecake and cola accents. Closes with impressive energy and sweetness, leaving an allspice note behind."

"Explosively perfumed aromas of red and dark berry preserves, Asian spices and potpourri, with cola and vanilla accents building in the glass. Sappy, broad and appealingly sweet, offering lively, spicy dark berry flavors with nuances of soy and candied flowers. Shows plenty of upfront appeal and intense fruit, finishing smooth, spicy and very long."

"This displays an unusually dark – cassis and elderberry – fruit wreathed in bay laurel and smoky black tea. Broad, rich, and velvety, it nonetheless retains a welcome sense of levity, vivacity, and primary juiciness, finishing with next sip-inviting length. It offers considerable polish for the price and might well even gain in stature over the next several years."

"Displays ripe, juicy blackberry mingled with resin, cinnamon, dark chocolate, vanilla, and clove, and underlain by beet root and a subtly present sense of forest floor. A vivid, tart berry edge and salted meat suggestions serve for invigoration and saliva inducement in a long finish. The alliance of sweet richness with levity and bright ping of acidity reflects the unusual proclivity of this site, where Bergstrom says “you can let the fruit hang as long as you want, and still come up with Burgundian pH numbers.” The flip side of that, he notes, is that the tannins can be aggressive if vines and young wine are not carefully monitored under that aspect; but in the present instance I find them fine-grained and well-integrated. Incidentally, apropos the youthfulness of so many of the vines in this site (roughly half were planted only in 2006), Bergstrom maintains that quality doesn’t have to suffer in the vine’s “adolescence” if the crop is managed tightly, and I suppose this wine makes that point pretty decisively!"

"Soter’s 2010 Pinot Noir North Valley is informed by fruit from five growers in disparate sectors whom winemaker James Cahill says have proven over the last half dozen years to be those with whom a collaboration that demands organic certification, strict quality control and a common vision proved viable. “A couple of our growers are dear friends,” Cahill adds, “with whom I’d like to think that collaborating on this wine has been a mutually satisfying relationship close to the heart.” The bottled result is certainly highly satisfying. Nut oils and vanilla join ripe, fresh red berries on the nose and on a satin-textured yet refreshing palate, with a savory streak of salinity serving to activate the salivary glands in a delightfully long finish. This is how an “intro-level” Willamette Pinot should taste: not just encouraging the next sip but also a move up the qualitative ladder to single vineyard selections based on the experience of an allure that only ever accrues to Pinot Noir."