2014 Raptor Ridge Winery Pinot Noir Barrel Select Willamette Valley 750 ml

Oregon’s 94-97pt 2014 Vintage in Willamette Valley

In August 2015, we traveled to Willamette Valley and tasted Oregon’s 2014 Pinot Noirs just before they went into bottle. We listened to one grower after another describe a miracle growing season that was sensational both qualitatively and quantitatively. Before we flew home, we made a gigantic bet on the 2014 vintage, one of the most prescient gambles in the history of WineAccess.

The underlying economics of our wager on Oregon’s 2014 Pinot Noirs were irrefutable. Still, we endured too many sleepless nights as we waited to see if the critics saw the vintage as we had. Last year, Wine Spectator calmed our nerves all at once, publishing a 94- to 97-point vintage rating, promising an avalanche of high scores to follow.

What was so remarkable about 2014? Why were even the greatest names in Willamette Valley anxious to sell off a few hundred cases of the finest Pinot Noirs they’d ever made at “friends and family” prices?

As Scott Shull explained during an earth-shattering 2014 Pinot Noir tasting at Raptor Ridge, a dry and mild spring led to a “perfect fruit set” in the Willamette Valley. The summer was glorious, featuring an unprecedented 25 days where high temperatures topped 90 degrees. Still, not a single day topped 100. The vines took full advantage, feasting on brilliant sunshine and pushing out a bumper crop, but without any risk of dehydration or blistering.

Often, when there are so many clusters per plant, ripening is uneven, requiring a rigorous selection process at harvest, both in the vines and on the sorting table. But in 2014 in Oregon, as in 1978 in Burgundy, despite record-breaking potential yields, clusters ripened evenly without any sign of millerandage, or what the French call “the chicken and the hens.”

Shull, who works with many of the most sought-after Pinot Noir vineyards in Oregon, including Goodrich, Shea, Meredith Mitchell, and Crawford Beck vineyards, made the first call to harvest in mid-September. Raptor Ridge would harvest over 4 tons per acre — almost twice the norm! — of perfectly formed Pinot Noir bunches. Still, despite the extraordinarily high yields, sugars were the equivalent of 2012, as acids remained firm.

As the “Barrel Select” name implies, Shull carefully selected the blend from more than 200 barrels; this 2014 Raptor Ridge is drawn from their own estate vineyard (25%), Goodrich Vineyard (17%), Meredith Mitchell Vineyard (10%), and Crawford Beck Vineyard (10%), with the balance drawn off other select vineyards, including Shea and Temperance Hill. Deep, dark ruby to the rim. It has perfumed aromas of cranberry leaf, wild strawberry, black cherry, and kirsch. A sappy textured mouthfeel with a rich and juicy attack, yet at the same time precise and delineated. Filled with crushed-red-fruit preserves, black cherry confiture, and hints of black tea. Finishing with superb tension and persistence. Drink now-2025.

94 points from James Suckling, from one of the finest vintages ever in Oregon. At $25.99/bottle, pile the 2014 Raptor Ridge “Barrel Select” into your cellar by the case. You’ll be sending us “Thank You” notes well into the 2020s!