An engaging, complex aroma of lime juice and oatmeal with hints of saffron and white blossoms. The palate is exceedingly soft and gentle, yet incredibly flavoursome and stylish. Gorgeous chalkiness and a hint of grapefruit pith on the finish.

A juicy, fleshy style, with caressing tannins amid a core of plum, cherry and wild berry flavors, highlighting floral scents of fresh berry and wilted rose.

Exhibits a generous core of fleshy blackberry and wild berry flavors, giving this depth and dimension. Finishes with a long, elegant, juicy aftertaste.

Demure and lightly earthy in forest and cardamom, this wine is defined by that underlying spiciness and a lengthy background of oak. Its balanced take on fruit includes strong twists of orange and wild strawberry.

Moderately dark garnet color in the glass. Intriguing aromas of dark berry mash, oak spice and rose petal. Sleek and sexy in the mouth in a mid weight plus style with waves of purple and blackberry fruits underlain with vibrant acidity. The whole package is harmonious with an uplifting finish.

Oregon Displays Collective Greatness: 400-Plus Wines Rated This takes a black-cherry and blueberry thread and marries it to rich, earthy and spicy complexity on the nose with good effect. The palate has a succulent and attractively grainy tannin texture and carries plenty of flavor long and on point.

Oregon Displays Collective Greatness: 400-Plus Wines Rated An attractive and complex pinot with savory oak spice and earthy, nutty complexity on the black cherry-scented nose. The palate has a super plush, flesh and fresh array of ripe, redder cherries that are carried on finely layered tannins that build seamlessly.

Has personality and polish with expressive black raspberry, garrigue and smoky pepper beef flavors that glide toward refined tannins. Syrah, Mourvèdre, Viognier and Grenache.

Rich purple color. Gorgeous aromatics of crunchy red and black currants and cherries, along with warm mulling spices and complex elements of cedar, graphite, minerals and loamy soil. Full-bodied with suave but structured tannins and fresh acidity — lovely balance. Black cherries, plums, currants, lovely depth of fruit but it’s crunchy and fresh, too. Complex flavors of earth, tobacco, sage, graphite and clove, some savory mushroom notes underneath. Gorgeous depth and complexity, I would love to cellar this for a decade. All Merlot, aged 22 months in 95% new French oak, from vines planted at 1,7000 feet in elevation.

This pitch-black colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Brave won our Big Blind Tasting. It opens with an oak and blackberry bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, rich and balanced. The flavor profile is an extracted blackberry and oak blend with notes of integrated minerality. We also detected hints of black tea and black olives. The finish is very dry and its monster dusty tannins stick around for quite a while. This Cab could sit in your cellar for a while. It will also reward you for your patience. In the short term, you could decant it and pair it with Roy’s rib roast.

Pure and refined, this offers savory richness to the dried red fruit and spice flavors. Tannins are firm but well-honed, and the finish is filled with mineral and cedar box notes, with a juicy rush of chocolate.

Oregon Displays Collective Greatness: 400-Plus Wines Rated Grilled lemons and white peaches with a supple array of stone fruit on the palate. There’s a lovely sense of layering here and a very freshly focused, lemon and yellow-grapefruit finish.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two A barrel sample, the 2017 Pinot Noir Pierre Leon is pale ruby-purple in color with a nose of blueberry, black cherry and black berries with notions of tobacco, soil and herbs framed by classy new oak. Medium-bodied, it's lively and vibrant in the mouth, with wonderful sweet dark fruits, layers of exotic spice and savory notes. It has firm, powerful, grainy tannins and mouthwatering acidity carrying the very long, layered finish. This is very promising.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two Pale to medium ruby purple, the 2015 Pinot Noir The Sum opens with gregarious aromas of dried blueberries, red and black cherries and berries—there are lots of fruit layers here—with accents of smoked meats, cinnamon stick and clove. Light to medium-bodied, it fills the mouth with red, blue and black fruit and savory notions, framed by firm, finely pixelated tannins and very juicy acidity carrying the long spicy finish.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two Willakenzie's new estate-focused blend, the 2016 Estate Pinot Noir is pale ruby-purple in color with a lovely spicy nose of red licorice, dried rose petals and potpourri over a core of bright red fruits—raspberry, strawberry, rhubarb and red cherry with cinnamon stick accents. Light to medium-bodied, it features bright red fruits framed with oodles of savory/spicy notes in the mouth. It has firm, grainy tannins and wonderful juicy acidity, finishing long with spicy layers. This will show best after a couple years in bottle.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two Pale ruby in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Aliette has a lovely spicy/floral nose with notes of strawberry, rhubarb, red cherry pie, cinnamon stick, dried leaves and dusty earth. Light-bodied with oodles of sweet red fruits in the mouth, it gives wonderful spicy layers—dried flowers, tobacco—with firm, grainy tannins and mouthwatering acidity, finishing long with gobs of sweet spice and savory layers. This has plenty of fruit to soak up the new oak, so give this a year or two in bottle.

8 Merlot Wines Reviewed, from $7 to $85 Aromas of black cherry, trail dust, dry tobacco and hazelnut waft from this inky purple, mountain Merlot. A generous quantity of velvety tannins frame rich flavors of tart black cherry, blackberry, dry herb and spicy oak from beginning to finish on the palate (medium-plus body). Notable acidity lends balance. This dark, ripe incarnation of Merlot is a very well-made wine which grabs, and then holds, one’s attention as soon as it hits the tongue. It also held up very well over several days of re-tasting. It will age nicely for at least a decade, but is ready to drink now. 90% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot from the La Jota and W.S. Keyes vineyards, fermented with native yeast and aged 22 months in French oak barrels, 78% new.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Dropstone has a lovely nose of blueberries, black cherries, cassis, exotic spice, autumn leaves and crushed rock. Medium-bodied, it features lovely ripe, dark fruits in the mouth with layers of spice and earth plus a wonderful mineral line. It's got fine, pixelated tannins and juicy acidity, finishing long and spicy.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two The 2016 Chardonnay Yamhill-Carlton has a lovely open nose of spiced apples, acacia honey, lemon cream, toast and dried white flowers. Medium-bodied with a great creamy texture, it fills the mouth with layers of honey toast, cream, ripe orchard fruits and spice, with great mouthwatering acidity and a long floral finish.

Tightly focused and well-structured, with appealing blueberry, sassafras and orange spice flavors that finish with broad-shouldered tannins.

PinotFest 2018 WillaKenzie’s Gisèle is all about agility and expressiveness of the place, of the fruit, and of this dark ruby purple-tinged semi-transparent 2015 Pinot Noir. Delivers complexity and good flavor content to the glass – strawberries, boysenberries, violets, and just a hint of allspice and forest floor. The agility manifests itself as animation and responsiveness in the touch and feel. This is also a complex wine. WillaKenzie calls the winery a “site-driven, estate winery”. Gisèle, named after the founder’s sister, is a 40/60 blend of fruit from the Jory Hills and WillaKenzie Estate vineyards. The vineyards are named after the soil types: Jory’s soil is volcanic, and WillaKenzie’s is ancient sedimentary soil of marine origin. Cellar treatment on this 180-case production included a six-day cold soak, partial whole berry fermentation, with total time on skins of about 20 days. Élevage, 10 months in French oak, 20% new.

This wine offers a depth of aromatic intensity and is expansive in velvety tannin. Spicy cherry, strawberry and a compelling thread of cola highlight a succulence on the midpalate that lingers leisurely on the finish.

Fresh and lively, with vibrant, snappy wild berry, black cherry, plum and anise flavors, coating the palate with zesty berry notes and ending with supple, fine-grained tannins.

Tart in complex acidity and subtle flavors of strawberry, pomegranate and orange, this is a light-bodied, lightly ripe wine, that's angular and elegant.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two Lynn Penner-Ash says, "In 2014 we really started to see the ratcheting up of growing degree days. It was both hotter and drier. It was the next really warm vintage after 2003." Pale to medium ruby in color with a hint of purple, the 2014 Pinot Noir has a lovely open nose of potpourri, pink peppercorn and violet over a core of warm red and black cherries and berries with touches of undergrowth—very spicy and perfumed! Light to medium-bodied, it offers good layers of black and red fruits, exotic spices and earth in the mouth. It’s got a strong frame of grainy tannins and just enough freshness to lift all that flavor on the long finish. This is drinking beautifully right now.