Oregon Pushes the Quality Needle for Pinot

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | JANUARY 18, 2018

Recent vintages have mostly been an embarrassment of riches for Oregon’s winegrowers—in quantity as well as quality. One could also add that “richness” applies to the style of wines made in 2015, 2014 and 2012 as well. The ‘15 vintage, the main focus of this year’s report, is already commanding intense demand in the market and what ‘14s are still out there, including many of the late releases covered here, are also hot commodities. 

The Dundee Hills at dawn

Ripeness: Its Advocates and Detractors

This being Pinot, there’s always some existential shade to be cast by a subset of the grape’s enthusiasts, depending on the style of the vintage. Pinot vintages seem to be viewed by many of the variety's fans in strictly binary fashion. Those who favor ripeness and richness in their wines will likely love Oregon’s '15s and '14s. But partisans of leaner (some would say meaner), more taut (some would say hard), “classic” (some would say rainy and cold) years—more like 2013 and 2011—will probably be unimpressed or even turned off by ’15 and ‘14. Along with the 2012s (another vintage that resembles ’15 and ’14 in many respects), their thinking goes, the wines are too often too much of a good thing, showing too much ripeness, too little acidity, a lack of definition, excess weight and dark—or even cooked—fruit character. To be sure, a number of ‘15s and ‘14s, especially ‘14s, veer dangerously in that direction and away from the brighter Pinot Noir aromatic and flavor spectrum. However, viewing the vintages from an overall perspective, I’m hard-pressed to call either vintage (and 2012, for that matter) anything short of exceptional, especially for those who prize the exuberant fruitiness for which Oregon Pinots are known.

How Did The 2015s Stay So Fresh?