2015 Alcance Gran Reserva Chardonnay – great minerality with tropical fruit, lemon, almonds, butterscotch and a nice nuttiness. This was a delicious Chardonnay.

What To Drink Now: White Wines Under $25 Though best known for red wines, Chile’s Alcance ($20, wine.com) began producing Chardonnay in 2015 highlighting the diversity of the rocky, granite-filled soils creating character-driven wine.

Great Wines for your Summer Party

Obsession in the Willamette Valley, Part Four Then came the 2015 Block 6, which at this stage was all about the fruit, which was very purple and juicy (meaning great acid), and the tannins, which were nice and long and smooth. Undertones of spice box and tobacco developed with air. The level of structural development this early into the wine is what impressed most.

Obsession in the Willamette Valley, Part Four The first 2015 was a special treat: a new wine called Vista, which will be sent exclusively to Europe. My first note from tasting it was, “God that’s good, I hope Europe knows how lucky they are.” We’re missing out here in America. My second note: “In a year or two this will be truly spectacular.” The structure is near-perfect harmony while starbursts in the mouth between red and black fruit, dirty soil and graphite make for an exciting wine. It is a better match for the European palate than ours in America, so it makes sense why it’s headed there.

2018’s Most Memorable Wines – and Moment Vineyard of the Year Zena Crown Vineyard in the Eola-Amity AVA in Oregon has consistently produced some of Oregon’s most impressive wine for the Good Vitis palate. The 115 acre vineyard, planted in the early 2000s, was more recently purchased by Jackson Family Wines who created a winery, called Zena Crown, to showcase its qualities. Additionally, some fruit from the vineyard is sold to several notable wineries, including Beaux Frères and Soter, not to mention the wineries listed below. The vineyard is planted on a southwest-facing slope of volcanic soil that begins at 300 feet of elevation and tops out at 650 feet. It is divided into 17 blocks, each of which has a unique combination of gradient, aspect, soil depths. Vines include a variety of pinot noir clones. All told, the vineyard is quite capable in producing a diversity of pinot noir wine. In 2018, we were lucky enough to try a variety of wines made from Zena Crown Vineyard’s goods, including some tasted in the region. Not all were scored, but several were written about on Good Vitis, including: 2015 Zena Crown Slope – The youthful nose is still growing into itself, though it promises to be a thing of beauty. Detecting ripe cherry, raspberry, plum and multiple florals. The texture on this one is stunning; talk about velvety tannins, there’s no end to them or their silkiness. The acid is on-point as well. Simply stunning. The flavors will require a bit more time to match the texture, but they don’t disappoint at this stage with sweet plum sauce, dark cherries, chocolate mousse, graphite, cinnamon, nutmeg and just a hint of green onion spice. Not for the faint of heart, and worthy of ten years in the cellar. 94 points, value B.

Obsession in the Willamette Valley, Part Four The final Zena Crown offering was the 2015 Slope, which stood out as the funkiest pinot in the house. The tannin structure is elegant, and it delivers immediate dark and slightly sweet cherry and plum to go with a variety of savory, salty and gamey notes. A lover of earthy wines would find a kindred spirit with the Slope. This is routinely my favorite Zena Crown wine.

Hard to find Zena Crown pinot noirs are worth the effort This is one of the more serious pinot noirs we tasted in this flight. Firm tannins with blueberry and cranberry flavors, earthy and well structured.

Pinot Noir an ideal red wine for Thanksgiving When Jackson Family Wines acquired one of the North Willamette Valley’s gems in 2013, it signaled the California giant’s first land purchase beyond the Golden State. It’s no coincidence that trailblazing winemaker Lynn Penner-Ash pulled from Zena Crown for some of her top Pinot Noirs. (Jackson Family Wines bought Penner-Ash Wine Cellars in 2016). The Sum is one of four examples of Pinot Noir that JFW winemaker Shane Moore produces in McMinnville under the Zena Crown brand. Baking spice from the 18 months in 59 percent new barrels melds with cherries and a bit of raspberry in the aromas. Dark cherry and a bit of pomegranate lead its flavors. It finishes with spot-on acidity that extends its depth of fruit.

When Jackson Family Wines acquired one of the North Willamette Valley’s gems in 2013, it signaled the California giant’s first land purchased beyond the Golden State. It’s no coincidence that trailblazing winemaker Lynn Penner-Ash pulled from Zena Crown for some of her top Pinot Noirs. (Jackson Family Wines bought Penner-Ash Wine Cellars in 2016). The Sum is one of four examples of Pinot Noir that JFW winemaker Shane Moore produces in McMinnville under the Zena Crown brand, and he finished harvest of these clone 4 and clone 777 berries on Sept. 29. Baking spice from the 18 months in 59% new barrels melds with cherries and a bit of raspberry in the aromas. Dark cherry and a bit of pomegranate lead its flavors. It finishes with sport-on acidity that extends its depth of fruit. Earlier this month, some of the region’s top wine buyers selected The Sum as the best Pinot Noir at the sixth annual Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition. Outstanding.

2018 Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition Best Pinot Noir Zena Crown Vineyard, a site and brand owned by Jackson Family Wines, earned best of class for its 2015 Σ The Sum Pinot Noir, a wine from the rising Eola-Amity Hills crafted by Shane Moore, an Idaho native who graduated from Washington State University.

Obsession in the Willamette Valley, Part Four The penultimate pinot was the 2015 Sum. This is done with 50% whole cluster and takes a lot of inspiration from Cristom Vineyards’ approach, a Willamette winery that Shane admires. It is the fullest bodied, darkest, sweetest and most concentrated of the label’s wines. Cherry, raspberry, blackberry, cola and baking spices are in generous supply. Most intriguing, the acid has a slight juniper berry twang. Because of its significant weight, it’s not an everyday wine for our household, but for the occasions where we’d want a bigger wine, this would be a fascinating choice.

Hard to find Zena Crown pinot noirs are worth the effort Multiple blocks of grapes are used to create a black cherry, blackberry profile.

Obsession in the Willamette Valley, Part Four The 2015 Conifer was up next. This is Zena Crown’s summer themed wine. Slightly sappy and lighter in tannin than the others, it has elevated acid that delivers ripe fruit, light and sweet tobacco, and a nice depth of mineral tones. I’d compare this to Volnay in style. It seems the most ready to go of the vintage.

Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Auction 2019 Vibrant acidity, corduroy-textured tannins, some fresh red rose aromas, black fruit, long length of finish.

Obsession in the Willamette Valley, Part Four The first we tasted was the 2014 Slope, which Shane called a “fireplace wine.” Its luxurious sensation is built around long, lush tannins and substantive weight. The flavors and aromas touch on deep cherry, cola, violets and bitter chocolate mousse at this stage, though the upside here with another five-plus years of aging is substantial.

The Wines of Oregon and Washington are Poised for Greatness on the World The Zena Crown Vineyard “Slope” Pinot Noir 2014 (SRP $100) is a subtly powerful wine whose impeccably balanced notes of cherry, flowers, licorice, plums, and Indian spices should continue to evolve for another two decades, minimum.

We started with the 2014 Zena Crown Conifer Pinot Noir from Oregon. It presented unlike most California pinots, with a bright bouquet and a powerful finesse, but not a strong berry flavor. Not a fruit bomb – more European in style. At $75/bottle, one to consider but I recommend you taste it first if possible.

Pinot selections for Thanksgiving Rich fruit and full body are expressed on the attack, followed by softly rounded tannins, fine balance and excellent complexity that lead to a lengthy, full-flavored finish.

Favorite Oregon Pinot Noir Bottles from Jackson Family Wines With its stylish label, we sipped this wine along with numerous small bites at a local Oregon restaurant. It’s food friendly, but that doesn’t mean it takes the passive backseat. This Pinot Noir is rich, complex and loaded with mushroom and roasted onion flavors disrupted by notes of dark berries and black pepper. Can’t find the 2013? Give the 2015 a whirl.

Uncorked: Spire Collection a portfolio of all stars Back state side, the dark red, ruby colored in the glass and bold Zena Crown ‘Slope’ Pinot Noir 2013 came from Oregon. It has beefy fruit with cranberry, fig and tobacco flavors. There’s black tea and wet earth on the nose. It’s full bodied with a round mouthfeel and a long-lasting finish.

Wines of the Week Zena Crown Vineyard is in the southern part of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Planted on volcanic soils at elevations of 400 to 550 feet, this prime southwest-facing location combined with cooling breezes from the Van Duzer Corridor, creates a perfect home for Pinot Noir. The 2013 Conifer bottling offers complex aromas of red fruits, earthy citrus, mineral and Oregon forest floor. Excellent acidity on the mineral and spice finish pairs superbly with salmon.

The Stunning Spire Collection Estate in Calistoga This was a blend of a variety of clones with nice body, and it really wasn’t too heavy. I was surprised at how smooth it was, as most Oregon Pinor Noir wines are much earthier and less gentle. It also had a lovely, floral aromatic nose.

Light gold in the glass. Brine, honeysuckle, beeswax, lemon zest and light stonefruit aromas. Assertive: minerally, tight and zesty with light tonic/quinine to the the subtle honeyed stone fruit. Long tail of delicate, tantalising precise fruit. A most delicious wine. 18.25/20.

A new direction for McLaren Vale wine ...In the case of this svelte delight, the winemaker has preferred to keep that pale blanc-de-noirhue by rigidly limiting the duration of skin contact, a method which also stops short of extracting much phenolic tannin from the skins, keeping that juice as fresh and fine as possible. This is assisted by picking early, before the skins ripen fully. The result is an alluring aroma that avoids the usual overt, even brash raspberry/redcurrant/cranberry characters. Instead it offers a distinctive agave/prickly-pear juice finesse after that delicious cactus fruit adored as the heart flavour of spring and summer by the Maltese since they were Phoenicians...