Pinot one and done

I’ll only ever make one Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and this is it. 93 points from Owen Bargreen, $36 a bottle and once it’s gone it’s gone.

2023 Orr Wines ‘Oregon’ Pinot Noir- The 2023 Orr Wines ‘Oregon’ Pinot Noir comes from the Leland Vineyard, with vines planted all the way back in 1982. This is big and juicy Oregon Pinot, offering loads of black tea and exotic spices alongside heady red and dark fruits. Deftly textured, with good acidity, enjoy now and over the next ten years. Drink 2025-2035- 93 points Owen Bargreen

In 2002, I had an incredible opportunity to work as a harvest intern at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy. My experience there, working alongside my friends Diana Snowden-Seysses and Jeremy Seysses, stands out among the 29 (!) harvests I’ve worked. Plus, I learned almost as much about cheese as I did about Burgundian winemaking that harvest.

Over the years, Diana and Jeremy and I have had a lot of funny, delicious adventures with their families in Burgundy and Napa Valley. We took an epic bike trip through the Vosges mountains in Alsace while tasting literally hundreds of Rieslings a day. Diana and I tasted some of the greatest roses in the world together in Provence and once got kicked out of a Loire chateau garden for having a forbidden picnic with goat cheese and Chenin blanc.

Over the years, I’ve been lucky to work with Pinot Noir at Gary Farrell in the Russian River and at Yering Station in the Yarra Valley. Fast forward to June of 2023, my friend Katelyn and I took a trip to France and we visited Jeremy and Diana. I wrote a whole blog post about it. Afterwards, I got really really excited about making Pinot for my brand. Is someone singing the Ban Bourguignon?

Pioneering Oregon winery Erath produced a single vineyard Leland Vineyard Pinot Noir for 30+ years. Sort of magically, this fruit became available to me in 2023.

Leland Vineyard is a small four-acre farm in Oregon City in the north Willamette Valley. Owner Bruce Weber planted two clones of Pinot Noir, Pommard and Wadenswil, way back in 1982. The vines are own rooted and dry farmed.

Just under 4 tons were hand-picked on September 22, 2023 and trucked up I-5 North all the way to the winery. I got a group of my friends together to select the most beautiful clusters to remain intact, my ferment ended up being 12% whole cluster, the remaining 88% was destemmed on top. Twice daily punchdowns, pressed right around 0 Brix. I aged the wine for 18 months in 7 old French oak barrels and 2 French oak barrels that were once used. 220 cases were bottled unfiltered in Spring of 2025 under TCA free corks in American-made glass..

Over this past summer, I shared a bottle with my sister’s family with home-job steak frites. Great pairing. The next night, the leftover beef became a steak salad on arugula with Point Reyes Bay Blue Cheese. Also a great pairing. I love it with carnitas and Mexican rice or roast chicken and lentils or chana masala and cauliflower.

Pinot, one and done. This is the only Willamette Valley Pinot Noir I’ll ever make.