2014 Winter's Hill Pinot Noir Cuvee du Vigneron Dundee Hills 750 ml

The “Vintage of a Lifetime” in the Heart of the Dundee Hills

The first Willamette Valley 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, but we could only watch as each of the lots we’d targeted of 2014 Pinot Noir 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. If we had to pick 2014s from a single AVA, however, we would turn to the heart of the Dundee Hills, home to Domaine Drouhin, White Rose, Stoller, Domaine Serene, Archery Summit, 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, Winter’s Hill 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 fastidious 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. Peter’s voice joined a chorus that included the likes of Bernie LaCroute of WillaKenzie, Laurent Montalieu of Hyland Estate, and Gavin Joll of White Rose praising “the vintage of a lifetime,” with many reporting yields of over 140%.

In a great vintage, Oregon is America’s only answer to Premier Cru Burgundy, and for proof, look no further than 2012 and 2014. A key distinction: The rules of supply and demand don’t seem to bend as they do for Burgundy. Authors of ultra-premium Willamette Valley Pinot Noir need a “haircut” in years when yields are way up. Such was the case in 2014 — the “vintage of a lifetime.” Two years after Stephen Tanzer’s 2012 vintage “for the record books,” Wine Spectator fired the opening salvo with a massive 94-97 points for 2014. Then Antonio Galloni chimed in, noting that 2014 is “a vintage that’s at least the equal of 2012.” Today for WineAccess members, we’ve taken a little bit off the top thanks to the Gladharts.

This is another stunner from Winter’s Hill, which has been riding a hot streak since 2010. This special cuvée from the Gladharts is drawn exclusively from the Winter’s Hill Estate, composed of mostly Pommard and a touch of Dijon 115. Vivid ruby to the rim. Striking aromas of blackberry, raspberry, blood orange, and Asian spices. Juicy and high-toned on the attack, bursting onto the palate with crushed red-fruit preserves and cassis, finishing with mouthwatering acidity and persistence. Drink now-2022.

$45 on release. Only $18 today for one of the top Pinot Noir bargains we’ve come across in the 2014 vintage — from the heart of the Dundee Hills. Shipping included on 6.