2013 Stangeland Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate "Reserve" Eola-Amity Hills 750 ml

The "Tweener" Vintage – Top 2013 Reserve Pinot Noir...Half the Price

From early spring to late September, Oregon’s 2013 growing season all but mimicked the fabulous 2012 campaign. The winter was warm and dry. March came in like a lamb, with temperatures soaring past 80 degrees! Bud-break followed quickly in the first week of April.

Again, the crop size was small, further accelerating maturity. By the end of August, sugars were nearly equal to 2012, yet acids were firmer, making for what many believed to be an even more extraordinary harvest than the year before. But in the last days of September, a low front crept over Willamette Valley. Rain fell in buckets, dashing all hopes of a peaceful harvest. We’ve been barrel-tasting Oregon Pinot Noir for nearly two decades, and it’s fair to say that we’ve never encountered a vintage with such disparate quality. As Antonio Galloni’s Vinous reported in its exhaustive 2013 vintage report, “If there is ever a year to tread carefully and focus one’s wine dollars on the top wineries, it’s 2013. And the best estates often did make strong ‘13s: wines with noteworthy energy and focus and vibrant red fruit and spice character.”

But, as Vinous also reported, regardless of the quality of certain wineries’ 2013s, the market is treating 2013 as a “tweener” vintage between the highly acclaimed 2012 and 2014. As a result, WineAccess is now being offered superb 2013 Reserves at the price of baseline bottlings — none more stunning than this gorgeous 2013 Stangeland “Estate Reserve.”

When we asked Larry Miller why his 2013 Stangeland “Estate Reserve” ranked among the most successful Pinot Noirs of the vintage — honestly, at least the equal of the $70/bottle 2012 — as always, the veteran winegrower told it like it is: “By September 18th, everyone knew the rain was coming. But some of our parcels just weren’t ready, so it looked like we had no choice but to wait out the Pacific storm. But the vines on our ‘Reserve’ block are 35 years old. They face south and sit at a lower elevation in the Eola-Amity Hills. As a result, the Pinot Noir is always a week or two ahead of our neighbors. Given the early date of flowering, we had always expected to begin harvest early. The steady breezes off the Van Duzer Corridor helped. But most of all, like always, it was the pick date. On September 22nd, we harvested 1.5 acres that went into the ‘Reserve.’ BEAUTIFUL fruit came in at 22.9 Brix. We’re being penalized in the marketplace due to the vintage on the label, but the rain played no part in the making of the 2013 ‘Reserve.’ ”

Brilliant dark-ruby. Deep, briery aromas of black cherry, raspberry, lavender, and Burgundian sous bois. Rich, juicy, and elegant on the attack, filled with a mix of black raspberry and black cherry jam, a dash of white pepper. Beautifully integrated on the finish, both supple and sturdy, this 2013 is superb now, but will continue to age gracefully into the mid-2020s.

$70 on release. 200 cases are now up for grabs at $29.99 for one of the finest Pinot Noirs of this topsy-turvy year in Willamette Valley.