2017 Pinot Noir

Mimi Casteel’s Hope Well wines were absent from the previous report due to some major changes Casteel has undergone with her vineyards. In 2021, she decided to move to a smaller site. “I no longer plan to sell fruit to make more room for the agroecology and climate work.” The new location is just eight miles from the original, where she grafted using massal selection from the initial vineyard, deciding to work with Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc, but no more Chardonnay. Casteel explains, “I love Chardonnay. I just wish that we could have less of a trend affecting Oregon, and instead follow progress over time.” The 2023 Chenin Blanc is fantastic. Otherwise, our tasting focused on a number of back vintages, including the 2021 Chenin Blanc Hunter's Moon, made from slightly botrytis-affected fruit and fermented to full dryness. It shows tremendous energy and complexity. We also tasted the Pinot Noirs from her Child series—Sunday, Monday and Tuesday’s Child from the 2021 vintage. These three wines were made relatively the same way, with the exception being the length of time they spent macerating on the lees. It’s a fascinating exercise in understanding the effects of skin contact.

I’m very excited to see what’s to come from Casteel with her new plantings. She has a wealth of knowledge, and though not specifically relevant to the wines we tasted together, her insights into the 2022 vintage were invaluable. Part of that conversation went into detail about the warming trends in Oregon, especially how the region pushes 2022 as a “cool” vintage. Her response: “You build your reputation as a cool climate region, so talking about hot vintages all of the time creates an identity crisis.” She went on, “In 2022, we did have surges, hot weather spikes, and each year we see rising nighttime temperatures. Being at the Van Duzer Corridor is a real gift at the moment. But the reality is that we’re having these hot summers, and the question is, how are we adjusting to that and still making the wines that we want to make? We trip over natural capital to find the technology that we think is going to fix things—Like making a perfect Gerber Baby, instead of rebuilding infrastructure that will actually support cooling.” This is the kind of change Casteel is looking to explore in the future.