2014 ArborBrook Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate Heritage Cuvee Chehalem Mountains 750 ml

Oregon Pinot Noir Drops a 94-97 pt. BOMB on Our Heads

We knew it was coming. Nearly everyone in Willamette Valley did. Still, critics are notoriously capricious. What if the market-moving publications didn’t see the 2014 vintage for what it truly is — one of the richest and surely the finest Pinot Noir vintage in Oregon history?

Last September, we traveled to Oregon with two objectives in mind. First, there’s nothing quite like tasting freshly picked Pinot Noir berries right off the sorting table. Second, we’d heard that the 2015 harvest was excellent, and as large as — if not larger than — 2014. If so, growers would not only have more fruit than barrels to store it in, they’d also be strapped for cash like never before.

We checked into The Allison Hotel on September 10th, loaded for bear. When we checked out three days later, we’d committed to thousands of cases of sensational 2014 estate-grown Pinot Noirs — many at HALF the release price. Then we sat back and waited to see if the critics saw the vintage as we had.

Wine Spectator didn’t disappoint. The magazine dropped a 94- to 97-point rating on Oregon’s 2014 vintage, turning the attention of every California Pinot Noir enthusiast in America towards the Pacific Northwest.

Today, the choice is obvious: If you’re a Pinot Noir collector, buy EVERY bottle of the 2014 single-vineyard Pinot Noirs from the likes of Beaux Frères, Cristom, ArborBrook, Lange, and Domaine Serene that you can get your hands on. It won’t last much longer.

And if you’re a Pinot Noir bargain-hunter? Take full advantage of the bets we made last fall and lay down CASES of Pinot Noirs from Oregon’s stars … beginning today with Dave and Mary Hansen’s ArborBrook.

Dave and Mary Hansen’s property search began in mid-1999, and soon led them to a magnificent 30-acre property on the southern flank of Yamhill County’s Chehalem Mountain range. In 2001, the Hansens planted a 5-acre block to Dijon Clone 777, known for its plumpness and deep, dark, black cherry concentration. In 2006, they planted a second block with Dijon Clones 115 and 667 and Burgundy’s Pommard Clone, which provides the racy intensity that so defines the Hansens’ ArborBrook Pinot Noirs.

As was true throughout the Willamette Valley, 2014 was nearly perfect at ArborBrook. The growing season featured a large, uniform fruit set, and steady heat. While daytime highs topped 90 degrees for an unprecedented number of days (25), temperatures never soared above 100. Incredibly, there was no trace of blistering when Dave Hansen made the call to harvest in September. Yields were some of the highest on record, and so were sugars! To top it off, in a vintage that really “has it all,” acids remained firm and bracing.

The 2014 ArborBrook Pinot Noir Estate Heritage Cuvée Chehalem Mountains is an absolutely stunning bottle of Pinot Noir. Brilliant purple/ruby, infused with flamboyant aromas of sweet black cherry and black raspberry, framed by cedar and sweet spice. Rich, juicy, intensely concentrated, yet still vibrant and so light on its feet, filled with crushed red fruit and cherry jam, finishing with textbook Chehalem Mountains cut. Drink now for its youthful hedonism or lay down until the early 2020s. This one’s a keeper.

$30 on release. Just $19 today because we were first to the punch. With all eyes on Oregon, 50 cases won’t last long. Don’t be late to the party.