2012 Montinore Estate Parsons' Ridge Pinot Noir 750 ml

Oregon’s 100pt Pinot Noir Vintage: Biodynamics on Parsons’ Ridge

Critics continue to suggest that 2012 was Oregon’s first 100-point vintage. From our vantage point, if you’re a Pinot Noir enthusiast, you should pick up every 2012 Pinot Noir you can find from the top growers in Willamette Valley — the likes of Lynn Penner-Ash, Josh Bergström, Ken Wright, Laurent Montalieu, Rudy Marchesi, and Bethel Heights. Here’s why.

As was the case in Northern California, 2012 was an exceedingly dry year in Oregon. But unlike Napa, which enjoyed one of its most copious harvests in history, yields in Willamette Valley were actually down nearly 25% from the norm. The combination of tiny yields, exceedingly arid conditions — barely a drop of rain fell from June to August — and fairly mild temperatures nursed Pinot Noir to extreme ripeness. Nearly every wine we tasted during our exhaustive tasting trip in early 2014 was darkly colored, richly textured, and dense.

What separated well-structured, truly sensational wines from the simply hedonistic releases? In the last weeks of August, younger plantings and vineyards without deep root structure suffered from hydric stress, making for somewhat ponderous wines infused with Port-like flavors. The top 2012s, on the other hand, were all drawn off deep-rooted plantings where roots burrow meters into the substrata, shrugging off the summer drought as they quenched their thirst on the winter and spring rains.

Not surprisingly, Oregon’s biodynamic growers — those who adhere to a rigid homeopathic protocol that promotes profound root penetration — shined most brightly. At Montinore, off of manicured Parsons’ Ridge Vineyard, Rudy Marchesi crafted one of the deepest, darkest, wonderfully high-toned Pinots of his winemaking career, a 2012 that ranks among the VERY TOP under-$30 wines of this near-perfect vintage.

Rudy Marchesi’s 2012 Montinore Estate Pinot Noir Parsons’ Ridge is brilliant dark-ruby in hue. Powerful aromas of ripe red berries and black cherry jam, floral and mineral. Rich, plush, and polished on the attack, featuring a pliant mix of black raspberry and black cherry flavors and a hint of cherry pit, perfectly poised and high-toned, finishing with superb backbone and persistence.

91 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (read the rave review below!). $48 from the winery. Just $29/bottle this morning on WineAccess — far and away the best price in America. NOT TO BE MISSED by Oregon Pinot Noir enthusiasts or Burgundy fanatics! Shipping included on 6.