Pinot Noir
2021 Jessie James Vineyard Pinot Noir
The Terroir:
The Eola-Amity Hills is situated to the immediate east of the Van Duzer Corridor, the "air-conditioning" pathway through the Coast Range where marine air enters from the west and cools the Willamette Valley. the high-density (2,400 vines/acre), four-acre planting of vines at Jessie James is east-facing at high elevation‒ripening here is patient and harvest is usually the first week of October. Furthermore, the vineyard is in a rain shadow, allowing the grapes to reach peak maturity with less risk of botrytis rot. The Nekia soil (shallow, rocky volcanic basalt) provides appropriate stress to the plants, resulting in sparse canopies and loose clusters with small berries and thick skins. The wines display exceptional depth and complexity of structure and fruit, with freshness and compact intensity. We lease the vineyard from Jessica and James Lee, from whom the vineyard takes its name, and we farm according to organic principles.
Reviews:
98+ - Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2021 Pinot Noir Jessie James Vineyard sports a deeper ruby hue, although it’s still clear, and it’s fantastic now in the glass, opening with notes of black and red fruit, wild violets, piney herbs, and layered earth. Medium-bodied, with a lot of completeness, it’s super-seamless in its structure, with ripe tannins, even, mouthwatering acidity, and a long finish. Drink 2025-2045.” - August 2024
95 - International Wine Report: "Boasting a neon medium ruby core with a silvery rim in the glass, the 2021 Jessie James Pinot Noir from Martin Woods is gorgeous. Like its sibling, the Hyland Vineyard, this one has a nose that won’t stop and kept me coming back time and time again over the 15 minutes I was tasting. More blue fruit - think wild blueberries and huckleberries alongside those lemony herbs and earth-driven components. It finishes long with a blue-fruit note that hits the mid-palate and doesn’t let go for minutes.” - January 2024
95 - Decanter: "The Jessie James site is east facing, meaning it's shaded from the afternoon heat and may take a bit longer to ripen, but it's positioned in a rain shadow, and so remains protected into the early autumn. Aromatics of sous bois, pine bough, and notes of sweet early-season strawberry lead into a palate of sappy black and red berry fruits, notes of black tea all framed by fine tannin and a wonderful structure.” - May 2023
95 - Vinous: "The 2021 Pinot Noir Jessie James Vineyard lifts with a finessed blend of dried black cherries and rose petals offset by dusty stone and hints of lavender. This is lifted in feel, with textures of pure silk engulfing the palate in a cloak of ripe wild berries as savory spices and touches of blood orange slowly drench the palate. It finishes long yet fresh, displaying a peppery tinge as a web of fine-grained tannins lingers, and a minty freshness slowly fades. There's a lot of potential here, but patience will be required.” - January 2024
98 - Wine Advocate, 2019 Jessie James Pinot Noir
Our Tasting Notes:
Red-black cherries, forest floor & subtle tree bark spice—elegant & balanced texture with a mouth-watering fine thread of structure, acidity and minerals framing the fruit—long, resonant finish, both complex and immediately pleasurable
2021 Koosah Vineyard Pinot Noir
The Terroir:
The Eola-Amity Hills is situated to the immediate east of the Van Duzer Corridor, the "air-conditioning" pathway through the Coast Range where marine air enters from the west and cools the Willamette Valley. At the very top elevation of the ava sits Koosah Vineyard‒in the Coast Salish dialect the name "koosah" means "beautiful ceiling of the sky". This "magnum opus" project of grower Kevin Chambers is without question one of the most thoughtfully planted (and riskiest) vineyards in the Willamette's history. Ripening here is patiently late and Fall rains will almost always threaten the harvest...yet that risk also offers rewards. The high elevation makes for strong diurnal shifts between cold nights and warm daytime temps with extra UV intensity. This alternation gives concentrated fruit density matched to bright acidity, with aromatics that are highly expressive. The Parrett soil (rocky volcanic basalt with shallow topsoil) provides balanced stress to the plants, resulting in sparse canopies and loose clusters, good wind and sun exposure, and ultimately small berries with thick skins‒all of which combine to give the wines structure, framing and definition. Martin Woods is one of the very few producers who have the privilege to work with these vines and we are quite thankful for the privilege.
Reviews:
98 - Jeb Dunnuck: "The medium red 2021 Pinot Noir Koosah Vineyard is outstanding and really in a great place, with notes of pristine ripe cherries, raspberries, preserved roses, and all the layers of the previous wines. It’s seamless on the palate, with plush, velvety tannins, clean, even acidity, and a lovely, tapered finish, which floats away ever so slowly. This is another outstanding wine from this site, which was purchased by Resonance (Jadot) in 2022. Drink it over the next 20 years."
95 - Wine Advocate: "The 2021 Pinot Noir Koosah Vineyard, from vines planted in 2016 at 900 feet in elevation, was matured for 14 months. The nose features wild blackberries and blueberries with nuances of blood orange, lilac and earth. The medium-bodied palate is supple and mouthwatering, with finely grippy tannins reminiscent of steeped black tea. It has surprisingly concentrated, floral fruit and a fan of spice across the long finish. This expressive Pinot Noir, from relatively young vines, is delicious right now, yet it will age gracefully over the next decade.” September 2023
95 - Decanter: "‘Koosah’ is from the Coast Salish dialect meaning ‘beautiful ceiling of the sky.’ This site, grown at 280 metres, is the highest in the AVA and planted on its own roots in rocky basalt and shallow top soils. This wine offers up effusive aromatics of alpine scrub and pine bough, followed on by cut persimmon aromatics. There is ample, fleshy blue fruit and a savoury spiced backbone to this elegantly knit Pinot Noir. Bramble berries, juicy blood orange and plenty of signature Eola-Amity spice carry into the finish.” May 2023
93+ - Vinous: "The 2021 Pinot Noir Koosah Vineyard opens slowly in the glass as dusty rose, mint leaf and hints of sage give way to peppery wild berries and green olive nuances. Silky-smooth yet lifted and refined, this glides easily across the palate, slowly saturating, with tart red and blue fruits expertly lifted by fresh acidity. A sensation of liquid stones and blacktea-like tannins linger along with chalky mineral tones, touches of lavender and contrasting sweet spice. The 2021 is structured yet not aggressive, leaving an utterly harmonious sensation. It's impossible to ignore.” January 2024
Our Tasting Notes:
Red/black cherry and pomegranate fruit—floral, spice and alpine accents—fine-grain structure perfectly framing and woven into the mouth-filling palate—long and resonant finish—remarkably pleasing balance
2022 Bednarik Vineyard Pinot Noir
The Terroir:
Bednarik vineyard is situated in the far northwest of the Willamette Valley, nestled into the foothills of Oregon's Coast Range near Cherry Grove. The microclimate here is cool and the mature self-rooted vines are patient to ripen. The well-drained marine sediments provide the vines a balanced stress, resulting in naturally-restrained yields, limited canopy growth, and lots of air flow and sun exposure, translating to Pinot noir with concentrated red fruit and distinctively energetic texture. Bednarik always presents wonderfully expressive floral and spice-driven perfume and the palate becomes increasingly silken with age. We are truly privileged to work with three of the eight total acres at this very special, mature vineyard.
Reviews:
96 - Decanter: “The Bednarik is a wine from own-rooted vines planted in the late 1980s in a secluded part of the Tualatin Hills appellation. With generous aromas of strawberries and cranberries that blend so well with the spice’s notes of cinnamon and clove and a hint of sweetness on the palate. Fleshy sweet cherries and blue mountain berries bring a core of ripe fruits to notes of dried herb and rich nori. The smoky saline note carries the lengthy mineral finish."
95+ - Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2022 Pinot Noir Bednarik Vineyard pours a deeper hue and reveals notes of tomato leaf, spice, clove, roses, and ripe cranberries. Medium-bodied, it has more structure than the 2023 at this stage, with fine-grained tannins and its spice coming through on the palate as well. It has a long finish and gains in intensity, with notes of incense as well as blood orange spice and a long finish that holds on."
93 - Vinous: "The 2022 Pinot Noir Bednarik Vineyard opens with a dark and intense bouquet that blends cloves and allspice with dusty sage and depths of dried black cherry. Velvety in texture yet lifted in feel, the 2022 holds its power in reserve, displaying a spicy burst of tart wild berry fruits offset by a spike of zesty acidity. A staining of primary concentration adds youthful poise alongside grippy tannins as an air of lavender and licorice lingers. This is an unbridled beast."
OurTasting Notes:
Red fruits and florals, earth, cinnamon, and allspice—silken red fruit—long, energetic, resonant finish
2022 Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir
The Terroir:
Hyland vineyard is one of the Willamette Valley's historic vineyards, originally planted in the early 1970s with clonal selections of Riesling and Pinot noir that were suit-cased back from Alsace. These vines are now referred to as "Coury" selections‒named for Charles Coury who did the massale selection. Our blocks of Dijon 115 and Coury Pinot noir were both planted (ungrafted) in 1989 in old Coast Range basalt (volcanic) soil. The deeply-rooted vines have thus far resisted phylloxera and instead show signs of health and longevity. The vineyard is farmed organically and without irrigation. Hyland is advantageously situated both in the foothills of the Coast Range mountains and within the van duzer gap, the "air-conditioning" pathway through the Coast Range where marine air enters from the west and cools the Willamette Valley. Persistent wind spills over this neighborhood, moderating temperatures and allowing for patient ripening and retention of fresh acidity. I find there is always a distinct textural elegance, freshness and length to this wine, coupled with wonderfully lifted and complex aromatics, that delights me year after year.
Reviews:
96 - Decanter: "From one of the oldest vineyards in the Willamette Valley, this Pinot Noir comes from own-rooted blocks planted in both 1988 and 89. Winemaker Evan Martin described Hyland's signature as having a ‘noble reduction’ and not much skin tannin. This Pinot Noir offers complexity without power. It's a playful dance of aromas, including blueberries, macerated plums, and a sprinkle of mulling spices, smoked cinnamon and an orange peel twist, all wrapped up with rose petal flourishes. Off the bat, it shows the silken texture that's possible with the own-rooted Pinot Noirs in the Willamette Valley. The palate offers a mix of blue fruits, spicy red berries, and mouthfuls of smoky violet tones. It's a captivating wine at such a young age. On the palate, it’s a savoury delight, showing off beautiful minerality, well-balanced acidity, and just the right touch of astringency due to the well-thought 17 months on lees. Simply elegant, I guess that's what they call a classic."
96 - Jeb Dunnuck: "Medium ruby and very transparent but very pretty, the 2022 Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard is more savory and herbal, with a sappy note that floats in as well as tomato leaf, loess, wild red berries, and fresh flowers. Medium-bodied, finessed, and refined, with an even feel of freshness, it has perfect balance."
93 - Vinous: "The 2022 Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard is decidedly savory with a blend of dusty sage, flowery undergrowth, cedar shavings and woodland berries. This is juicy and round with cooling acidity and ripe red and blue fruits, taking on an air of sweet lavender toward the close. The 2022 finishes long and staining, also remarkably balanced, with a pleasantly bitter tinge and a subtle layer of fine-grained tannins that hang around on the close."
Our Tasting Notes:
Delicate red fruits, forest floor, mulling spice—fresh acidity married to silken tannins—lithe, elegant, resonant finish
