2015 Day Wines Pinot Noir Cancilla Vineyard Willamette Valley 750 ml

Early Bragging Rights on Rising Star Pinot

Today isn’t just another day for savvy Wine Access clients, it’s a day for those who love being able to say, “Oh, I knew about this long ago.” Like whoever learned about Kosta Browne while having dinner at John Ash & Co back in the late 1990s. Well, today is the day you get to know Brianne Day. Tomorrow—as in a decade from now—Day’s wines will be double, if not triple the price. But for a short time today, you get to say you were there when she was still a rising star. Here’s why you need at least 6 bottles of her 2015 Cancilla Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir in your cellar.   

First: Ever since Wine Spectator added her name to a shortlist of “emerging producers to watch,” Day has only picked up steam. Second: New York Times critic Eric Asimov recently hailed her distinct offerings as “pure Willamette Valley pinot noirs,” and we at Wine Access are constantly impressed by the vision and conviction she demonstrates in her winemaking. Third: Oregon’s 2015 vintage earned 95-points from Spectator, and Brianne’s 2015 Cancilla is like a snapshot of the vintage—it’s exactly what we’re talking about.

Beginning with ripe, deeply colored, thick-skinned Pinot Noir berries, Brianne coaxed an intense, richly-spiced gem, bearing the unmistakable signature of the Cancilla Vineyard—black raspberry, cinnamon, sweet spices, and black pepper. Vinous’ Antonio Galloni was quick to hail the 2015 Cancilla, writing that it, “shows excellent clarity and spicy thrust on the finish, which features smooth, velvety tannins and repeating floral character.” As is common of Brianne’s single-vineyard releases, very little of the 2015 Cancilla was made. Of 250 cases produced, we got our hands on 792 bottles. At 38% off, we recommend as many as your cellar will hold.

An Oregon native, Brianne caught the wine bug during a trip to Italy when she was 19. She went to the far side of the world for her first harvest, though, at the Murdoch James Estate in Martinborough, New Zealand. Day’s passion and persistence helped her land positions at some of the finest wineries in Oregon (Willamette pioneer David Lett’s Eyrie as well as at iconic Brooks Wines), Argentina (Cepas Elegidas), and Burgundy (Domaine Huber-Verdereau). All the while, Day was developing her craft, setting herself up to return to the Willamette Valley and start her own winery. Her first release was 125 cases of single-vineyard Pinot in 2012. Since then, Brianne’s reputation has skyrocketed—and not just amongst hip, Brooklyn sommeliers.

Antonio Galloni, one of the stingiest critics out there, found the 2015 Cancilla Vineyard Pinot Noir “intensely perfumed” and “nicely concentrated.” It was sourced from vintner Ken Cancilla’s 20-acre plot, located in the Willamette Valley, in the foothills of the Coastal Range. Cancilla’s vineyard is both organic and dry-farmed making for high-quality fruit that is both concentrated and complex. Brianne noted the particular smell of the grape stems from Cancilla—cinnamon, sweet spices, black pepper—which she chose to include during vinification to translate the identity of the site.