2015 Vidon Vineyard 3 Clones Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains Oregon 750 ml

We sat back in our stools at the Vidon Vineyard tasting room when owner Don Hagge grabbed his fistful of keys and disappeared out the door. We were there to taste the Willamette Valley vintner’s new vintage—an insider friend at Wine Spectator had told us that the mag was about to drop an impressive review on Vidon’s new wine—but knowing Don’s penchant for holding back some bottles, we couldn’t resist asking if he had any Pinot with a little age on it. 

Just as we were polishing off his current release, Don came back with a pristine bottle of the 2015 Vidon 3 Clones Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains and filled our glasses. It was simply spectacular, so we cut to the chase. If he had a couple of pallets left, we’d take one off his hands that very instant.

Wine Spectator called the 2015 3 Clones “elegant and structured” in their 92-point review. We just call it a smoking deal on top-notch, cellared Oregon Pinot. 

With its beautiful aromas of dried red fruit, palate of cherry and strawberry compote laced with morel mushroom and forest floor, striking acid structure and bone-dry finish, this is how Willamette Pinot is supposed to shine with a bit of bottle age. 

Grab a case, pull some out for the near term, and sock the rest away, because this beauty from one of the top vintages ever in Willamette Valley has nothing but bright days ahead of it—we know because Don ended up pouring us two stellar decade-old bottles that he’s now selling for $145 and up. Because Wine Access members have become some of Vidon's most ardent followers, here’s a chance to pack the ‘15 away for a fraction of that. You’ll thank yourself every time you crack one open.

Don Hagge is a North Dakota-born former astrophysicist who fell in love with Burgundy while doing postdoctoral research work in France. At the end of his career, he bought a parcel in Oregon’s Chehalem Mountains—one endowed with Jory soil, the famed volcanic Oregon dirt known for lending layered spice to Pinot Noir. 

Don planted the property with a diversity of Pinot clones, and before long, his 3 Clone blend became hard to beat for rich texture and complexity, benefiting from the dark fruit of the Brigita Clone 777, the rich raspberry undertones of Mirabelle Clone 115, and the big-shouldered structure of Hans Clone Pommard.