...And... 2014 Pinot Noir Estate, Yamhill-Carlton, Willamette Valley

A fantastic find! Here’s a beautifully preserved Oregon Pinot Noir from the spectacular 2014 vintage that proves the exceptional quality of these wines. The Terry family calls their wine “and” three ellipses preceding and following the word connotating the connectivity of the word. They see their wines as a connector of people, places, ideas, senses and family.

They have a 15-acre estate vineyard on a hill in the Yamhill-Carlton sub-AVA of the Willamette Valley. The vineyard soil is a beautiful juxtaposition between the volcanic basalt and ancient seabed; uplifted marine sediment of the WillaKenzie type and the vineyard is 100% dry farmed. Without irrigation, the vines are forced to struggle for water and nourishment deep in the soils.

Their winemaker is Jared Etzel of the Beaux Freres Etzels. Jared is Mike’s son and grew up around the making of some of Oregon’s finest Pinot Noirs. At harvest, crews arrive before sunrise and hand pick the grapes while they are still cool and bring them to the team of hand sorters at the winery who ensure that every single grape is without a blemish. Fermentation is only with native yeasts and as natural as possible. They never use commercial yeast, no matter how inconvenient and relish the fact that the wines are authentic and taste different from year to year based on nature’s whims. The wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined.

This wine which has been maturing gently in the winery cellars shows beautiful complexity and depth. There’s an exotic, smoky tinge that gives way to a perfumed, dried strawberry, boysenberry and baked cherry on the nose. The graceful, nuanced palate is seductively silky and brings layers of flavor; strawberry, woodsmoke, forest loam, black tea and baked cherry. The finish is silky and long. Best of all, we grabbed everything available at a special price so we could offer it to you at a deep discount. Don’t miss it!!