Wine & Spirits - April 2021 - 93

Year's Best US Pinot Noirs
93 | Landlines

$80

2017 Yamhill-Carlton Proper Motion
Pinot Noir ^ This is a block selection off Landline's Tidalstar Vineyard, a 30-acre site on
the western reaches of Yamhill-Carlton. The
wine's aromas are lined with woodsy turf, red
cherry and whole-cluster spice. Sinewy and
lean, its dark flavors are delivered with a light
touch, concentrated, mineral and generous.
-P.J.C. (150 cases) §
523021

92 | Gran Moraine

$45

2018 Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir ^ This
wine isn't shy; its dark plum scents and turfy,
black-cherry flavors are bright and generous.
But there's a vibrancy and foresty savor that
keeps the wine lifted despite its richness. It
could stand up to something big, like a pasta
with roast chicken and mushrooms. -P.J.C.
523076

92 | Lazy River

$54

2018 Yamhill-Carlton August Wilhelm
Reserve Pinot Noir ^ Exceedingly savory for
a young wine, this smells of earth, thyme,
olives and lavender, all backing up mildly
plum-like fruit. The flavors are broad and
generous; the fruit peeks through a palate
that's relentlessly savory, with olive-like tannins. For lamb. -P.J.C. (67 cases) §
521387

92 | Rose & Arrow

$90

2018 Yamhill-Carlton Yamhill Close Pinot
Noir ^ From a curious " mille-feuille " soil structure of layered clay and silt isolated by the
Rose & Arrow team, the 2018 Yamhill Close
is firmly structured, so much so that it's hard
to read much beyond its initial saturated
intensity. The scents are dark and loamy, the
earthy, savory notes hinting at the vineyard's
dark sedimentary base. The texture feels saturated, almost crowded in its density, needing time in the cellar to unfurl. -P.J.C. (W&S
10/20; 313 cases) §

wine savory and restrains the fruit. A feathery texture cuts into the youthful plumpness,
lending the wine finesse. Cellar it. -P.J.C.
(526 cases) §
523115

90 | Panther Creek

$50

2018 Yamhill-Carlton Kalita Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ At first pass, this seems broad
and bright, delivering a floral cherry scent
with plenty of oak leaning into it. The rich
flavors are tender and succulent, with a
grounding of tannins that keeps the wine on
point for steak frites. -P.J.C. (200 cases) §
523116

90 | Panther Creek

$45

2018 Yamhill-Carlton Maverick Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ Dark and rich, this wine's concentrated fruit scent could be cherries baked
in a tart, while its sumptuous texture is enveloped by warm, caramelly oak. It has the heft
for something rich, like duck-leg confit.
-P.J.C. (150 cases) §
523120

90 | Penner-Ash

$75

90 | Purple Hands

$55

88 | Angela

$38

2018 Yamhill-Carlton Shea Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ Rich and deep, with plenty of
oak to gather the lush fruit, this is a broadshouldered pinot with the power and generosity for braised beef. -P.J.C. (1,444 cases) §
523135
2018 Yamhill-Carlton Shea Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ This starts off rich and generous, and indulges in a wallop of extract, but
falls in line with a bit of restraint, guided by
firm tannins and an earthy savor. -P.J.C.
(500 cases) §
522887

92 | Amalie Robert

$50

92 | Big Table Farm

$62

92 | Kate Arnold

$25

92 | The Eyrie Vineyards

$38

2016 Willamette Valley Estate Selection
Pinot Noir ^ A fine spice permeates this older
wine: It smells of clove, fennel and coriander, oak and torn tobacco. The flavors are
at once lush and elegant, with generous burnished fruit and spice lent by some bottle
age. -P.J.C. (300 cases) §
522914
2018 Willamette Valley Sunnyside Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Sunnyside was planted in
1970, and the wine has an old vine feel, in its
scents of tobacco and tanbark, in the modest imprint of sweat undergirding plush red
cherry flavors. The salinity keeps the wine
lean, the acidity keeps it mouthwatering
and tense. It's meant for the cellar. -P.J.C.
(242 cases) §
520121
2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (Best
Buy) ^ Like Arnold's Daffodil Hill wine (also
recommended here), this offers tension
between bright, generous red fruit and foresty savor. It has a scent of dried leaves and
mushroom caps, and bright, pretty flavors of
strawberry and rhubarb; for duck. -P.J.C.
(W&S 6/20; 3,707 cases) §
523178
2017 Willamette Valley Estate Pinot Noir ^
Hidden behind a layer of earth and leather
scraps, this is wan and reticent. If you give
it a day, the wine will begin to come toward
you in scents of pale red cherries and loamy,
autumnal savor. It's light but persistent,
needing time in the cellar to unfold. -P.J.C.
(2,435 cases) §

2017 Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir (Best
Buy) ^ Starting off lean and red berried, this
is a big wine that's streamlined by its taut
tannins and lip-smacking tartness. Chill it
slightly for rabbit rillettes. -P.J.C. (4,421
cases) §

WILL AMETTE VALLEY AVA
522915

93 | Big Table Farm

523195

92 | Trisaetum

$55

2018 Yamhill Carlton Coast Range Estate
Pinot Noir ^ With a vinous scent grounding
black cherry and plum flavors, there's a hint
of lees and vine-bark spice that leaves the

$105

2018 Willamette Valley Earth Pinot Noir ^ A
barrel selection from Big Table Farm's panoply of old-vine, single-vineyard sites, this
wine, this year, represents some of the most
opulent lots in the cellar. This takes dark
cherry and adds molasses, a whiff of carob
and consommé. On the palate, it starts off
round and loose, but the flavors feel composed, driven to an impressive depth with
tarry plum notes and sumptuous tannins.
-P.J.C. (100 cases) §
522881

523050

92 | King Estate Winery

$56

2017 Willamette Valley Kennel Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ From a warm mid-valley site
planted in 2007, this wine has a woodsy scent
adorning plum and five-spice notes. There's
a fine interplay between dark fruit elements
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2021

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Wine & Spirits - April 2021

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