2017 Solena Estate Grande Cuvee Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 750 ml

Last May at the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Auction, we were thrilled to see Laurent and Danielle Montalieu, whose wildly popular Soléna Estate has not only produced the #38 wine on the Wine Spectator Top 100, but some of our most successful Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs wines. Laurent, being Laurent, instantly hit us with a generous pour of deep ruby juice. We buried our noses in our glasses, took a deep whiff, then a big sip. It was fantastic. Next to the top-flight, bells-and-whistles Pinots we had been tasting—which would fetch an average of $160 per bottle in good-natured but cutthroat bidding—the Soléna Pinot fit right in.

But Laurent hadn’t given us their exclusive, auction-only lot—he had stealthily poured us the 2017 Soléna Estate Grande Cuvée, the newest vintage of his regular bottling. The wine that we were raving about—the one that stood tall with the pull-out-all-the-stops auction wines—was Laurent’s value-priced Willamette Pinot.

Laurent and Danielle, of course, thought their little trick was hilarious. We thought it was a rock-solid argument for making sure we delivered an allocation to Wine Access members before anyone else had a shot at the Pinot that rivals the $160 bottles of Domaine Serene, Domaine Drouhin, Archery Summit and more.

Soléna’s 2017 Grande Cuvée is classic, über-vibrant Willamette Pinot: berry-infused, with tons of plum and cherry, beautiful floral notes, Asian spices, and a touch of clove. It’s impossible to put down. Without a doubt, this is a Willamette Valley gem that packs the kind of pleasure—and modest price—to make it your go-to anytime Pinot Noir. 

To a legion of Pinot fans who have made Soléna wines perpetual sellouts at Wine Access, this quality-to-price ratio—or what we might even call a quality-to-price disparity—is not news: The Grande Cuvée made #38 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines in the world in 2015. Vintage after vintage, this bottling has few peers in the value department.  

When it comes to “quality, complexity, and price, there is no finer value in the world,” Laurent once told us. The ever-modest Laurent was talking about Willamette Pinot Noir in general, but we think those words fit as a spot-on description of his 2017 Grande Cuvée, which is drawn from three separate blocks at the renowned, biodynamically farmed Domaine Danielle Laurent. Chosen for their complementary characteristics, the fruit from these parcels combines to paint a beautiful picture of Willamette Pinot: berry-rich, mouthwatering, with complex spices and acidic verve.

When Laurent showed us the label of the Grande Cuvée, it was a revelation. Yours will come when you uncork a bottle and take your first sip of this stunning value Pinot.