2014 Winter's Hill Estate Watershed Pinot Noir 750 ml

Outbid at “Willamette”: 2014 in the Dundee Hills

The first “Willamette: The Pinot Noir Barrel Auction” drew hundreds of distributors, retailers, and collectors from across the country. We took seats up front, our bidders’ paddles in hand, and watched as each of our chosen lots of 2014 Pinot Noirs went for upwards of $1,000/case — hardly a surprise, on the heels of the Wine Spectator 94- to 97-point vintage rating.

Among the big winners at the “Willamette” auction were Bergström, Penner-Ash, Trisaetum, and Adelsheim. But if we were pressed to choose 2014s from a single AVA, we would have to turn to the heart of the Dundee Hills, home to Domaine Drouhin, White Rose, Stoller, Domaine Serene, and Winter’s Hill.

Peter and Emily Gladhart planted their first 20 acres in 1990, when planting Pinot Noir in Dundee Hills appeared to be a crapshoot at best. Like neighboring Domaine Serene and White Rose, the Winter’s Hill Estate is breathtaking. Set at 525-700 feet in elevation, today just 35 acres of vines are surrounded by almost 115 acres of fir and oak forests. As is still so common in Willamette Valley, Peter continues to farm Winter’s Hill himself, with the help of a small crew of six. All of the pruning, training, shoot thinning, and crop reduction is done by hand. Following a meticulous Côte de Nuits script, the Gladharts eschew mechanical harvesters, preferring to clip each bunch by hand, before gently placing each bunch into 5-gallon buckets before the short truck ride to the winery.

As Peter told us, “Each of our 42,000 plants is touched by a human hand more than 10 times before harvest.” In the fabulous growing season of 2014, those nearly 500,000 “touches” contributed to the most extraordinary harvest in the 25-year history of Winter’s Hill.

This is still another stunning Pinot Noir from the Gladharts, who have been riding a hot streak since 2010, very much in keeping with Wine Spectator’s take on the extraordinary 2014 vintage. Vivid ruby to the rim, infused with mouthwatering aromas of black cherry, raspberry, blood orange, and spice. Bright, juicy, and high-toned on the attack, filled with crushed-red-fruit jam and a splash of framboise, finishing with excellent tension and persistence. Drink now-2022.

$32 on release. Just $18 this morning for the drop-dead Pinot Noir bargain of the 2014 vintage — from the heart of the Dundee Hills. Shipping included on 6.