2021 Voix de la Vigne Pinot Gris Willamette Valley 750 ml

Oregon’s emerald hills boast blue-chip terroir for Pinot. ALL Pinot.

Pinot Noir might get all the attention, but Pinot Gris composes some of the West Coast’s most intricate and refreshing white wines, especially in the Willamette Valley’s cool, maritime climate—and especially when Laurent Montalieu is behind it.

That’s the 2021 Voix de la Vigne, a Pinot Gris flaunting bold fruit and earthy nuance interwoven with Alsatian refinement. Aromas break like waves on the rocky northern Pacific coast: peach, apricot, lime zest, and almond. This outstanding wine demands repeat sips, revealing orchard fruit, white flowers, and earth, all driven by lively acidity.

A joint project between Montalieu—an Oregon winemaking legend—and importer Robert Morrison, Voix de la Vigne harnesses the state’s special terroir to craft wines with Old World sophistication. At their disposal is Montalieu’s vineyard portfolio, which includes some of the state’s greatest Pinot Noir and Gris terroir.

Pinot Gris wasn’t always Oregon’s marquee white wine. For decades, producers focused on Chardonnay. But once Eyrie Vineyards founder David Lett planted the first Pinot Gris vines in 1966, the state’s viticultural elite never looked back. Today, Oregon’s bottles rival Alsace’s in crispness and pure luxury.

There’s nothing like a perfectly ripe Pinot Gris—weighty like Chardonnay but braced with electrifying acidity. The thing is, it needs conditions that are warm enough to elicit ripe-fruit intensity but cool enough to maintain nervy tension.

2021 gave Voix de la Vigne winemaker Bruno Corneaux exactly that. A late-spring heat spell had growers literally and figuratively sweating, but it came early enough that the grapes could still ripen slowly over a moderate summer. With that Pinot Gris, Bruno turned out a refreshing, exceptionally food-friendly bottling.