Big Table Farm Williamette Valley Pinot Noir 2015
| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | Oregon Oregon (Willamette) |
| Grape Type: | Pinot Noir |
| Winery: | Big Table Farm Winery |
| Organic: | Yes |
This wine represents the best of the Yamhill Carlton AVA and is adorned by one of the many historic barns of the county. The 2015 Yamhill-Carlton is made from the fruit of the Coats and Whitney and Kalita Vineyards, both farmed impeccably by Daniel Fey and the team at Results Partners.
tasting notes— This wine shows heady aromas of plum, raspberry preserve, vanilla, toasted oak, wet earth. Palate has liqueur qualities, juicy, toasted oak, and subtle campfire smoke, leather and black cherry. Full ripe tannins on the finish add unexpected but well received structure on the palate despite its openness to express all its qualities. This for me is really spot on for the AVA especially in a warm vintage.
Review:
This aromatic wine is the ripest of the winery's fine lineup of 2015 Pinots, with a sweet, soft, round and smooth entry. Its pretty strawberry and cherry fruit is swathed in mocha, proving supple and immediately appealing. The still slightly stiff tannins suggest further improvement awaits over the next five years. -Wine Enthusiast 91 Points
Precise and distinctive, with expressive raspberry, crushed rock and forest floor accents that build structure and tannins toward the finish. Drink now through 2024. 303 cases made. — TF Wine Spectator 91 points
Lurid red. Perfumed aromas of fresh cherry and red berries, candied rose and smoky minerals, backed by a building hint of white pepper. Juicy and focused on the palate, offering bitter cherry and raspberry flavors that gain sweetness and depth with air. Finishes on a spicy note, displaying very good tenacity, sneaky tannins and repeating floral and red fruit notes.Josh Raynolds — Vinous 91 points
93 points — International Wine Report
96 points — purely domestic wine report
Lucy and Tom have been tending the same vines for over thirty years with care and diligence. The evidence of their work and care is clear – not only in the appearance of the vineyard but the quality of fruit they produce and subsequently the wines.
tasting notes— This wine offers a full rich nose, cinnamon, cedar and musk. Great density on the palate, rich but with a focused palate as the acid holds it all in the middle so perfectly. Flavors are explosive, fresh, and everything perfectly in place. The structure here is based more on its acidity than tannins, though the tannins are there they and just melt on your tongue. This wine has great length to accompany its generosity.
scores—
95 points — purely domestic wine report
Vivid red. A highly perfumed, complex bouquet evokes ripe red berries, blood orange, star anise and vanilla, and smoky mineral and candied rose nuances build as the wine opens up. Silky, focused and gently sweet, offering concentrated raspberry, cola, floral pastille and spicecake flavors, underscored by a vein of juicy acidity that gives the wine a surprisingly delicate touch. Shows excellent clarity and youthful tension on the strikingly long finish, which is shaped by fine-grained, even tannins.
94 points — Josh Raynolds — Vinous
Refined and fresh, with pretty cherry and violet aromas and sleekly complex raspberry, stony mineral and tea flavors that glide toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2023. 369 cases made.
93 points — Wine Spectator
9.0 to 9.5 — Vinography
93 points — International Wine Report
Fullerton Bennett Vineyard Pinot Noir (magnum) is made from 100% Pinot Noir - 8 years old
18 months in 5% new French Oak and 95% neutral French Oak
Bennett Vineyard is grown in sedimentary Bellpine soil. A new and exciting site in 2015, this hidden jewel of a vineyard produced a graceful Pinot Noir and it is bottled exclusively in 1.5L and 3L magnums. The quality and value of this wine combine with the large format bottles to create an ideal wine for the upcoming fall and winter holiday seasons. Whether shared at your table or gifted to family or friends, this unique bottling is sure to please.
Aromas of cherry and raspberry fold into layers of rhubarb, clove, and pipe tobacco. The lengthy, mineral-driven palate showcases the captivating elegance of Pinot Noir.
Upon arrival, the grapes were immediately de-stemmed into open-top fermenters. Following a seven-day cold soak, the wine started fermenting slowly at a cool temperature. To manage extraction, we utilized one to two punch-downs and one pump-over per day, with two rack- and-returns at the beginning and middle of fermentation. Following two days of seling, the wine was racked to barrel and aged for 18 months in 5% new French oak and 6 months in tank prior to being bottled.
-150x300.jpg "Fullerton Five Faces Pinot Noir 2015")
Fullerton Five Faces Pinot Noir 100% Pinot Noir - 7-40 years old
FIVE FACES is an acronym for the five members of the Fullerton family - Filip, Alex, Caroline, Eric and Susanne.
A blend from Fullerton's best vineyard sources, Five FACES Pinot Noir always showcases the breadth of the terroir in the Willamette Valley with the inclusion of both volcanic, basalt-based soils and sedimentary, sandstone-based soils. The fruit hails from geographically diverse sites within the valley, each with their own unique micro-climates.
Lovely ruby with aromas of cherry, strawberry, cinnamon, bramble, and brooding humus. Fresh on the palate with nice persistence leading into the soft, noteworthy tannins. Drink now or hold for up to 5 years.
In order to build a complex and layered Willamette Valley blend, we used open-top, closed-top, and barrel fermentation. For the open-top tanks, we favored punch-downs, whereas the closed-top tanks received pump-overs exclusively. The rotator barrels spun on a schedule yielding a gentle extraction. All methods also received a minimum of two rack-and-returns at precise times during the fermentation process. Nearly all lots were cold-soaked for up to 10 days, and ambient yeasts carried out the fermentation. In total, we utilized 15% whole clusters. The wine was aged for 11 months in 20% new French oak barrels.
Review:
"The 2015 'Five Faces' Pinot Noir shows deep profile with aromatics leading to wild mushroom, black cherry and wild blackberry. The palate displays a medium weight with flavors of orange zest, black truffle, wild blackberry cobbler and a hint of cola. This is delicious and shows excellent balance. (Best 2017-2027) - July, 2017 (OB)"
- International Wine Report (July 2017), 91 pts
The contrast between our 10 Acre and West Block Pinot noirs exemplifies how slight geographical differences can have significant influence on the flavor profile of a wine. Planted in 1997, The 10 Acre block of Pinot noir is the oldest planting on the Patton Valley Estate Vineyard. Located on the east-facing slope of our vineyard, this area gets full sun in the cool morning hours, leading to a slower, more gradual ripening process and a wine that is typically elegant and lighter in body with prevailing red fruit character.
The 2011 10 Acre Pinot noir shows abundant aromatics, immediately woodsy but overwhelmingly fresh with lavender and red plum, sweet caramel and malt. The palate is lush and broad with sweet cherry, cigar box, and the faintest hint of peat smoke. Soft and very subtle tannins give this wine a solid backbone. A great acid profile makes this wine likely to offer boundless enjoyment when consumed in the short term, or if given some time to rest, the distinct potential of becoming something much more profound. Drink now or cellar 5-8 years.
Winemaker's Notes
The Patton Valley Estate Pinot Noir is the most comprehensive expression of our vineyard site. Bright red cherry cola, watermelon rind, dusty earth, and caramelized almonds grace the nose of this pretty and sumptuous wine. The palate is immediately broad, but has less alcohol sweetness than you might expect from a warmer vintage. Provincial herbs, spice, and milk chocolate flavor the mid-palate, with great acidity providing length, and silky tannins rounding out the mouthfeel.
The use of whole cluster fermentation is the back bone of this wine. Lots of leather and oak spice on the nose. Black cherry, dried cranberry, and pomegranate, as well as cardamom and anise. Palm sugar, hay, clove and sandalwood on the palate. Very fresh and bright, approachable wine.
Review:
Bright and polished, with expressive black cherry and orange zest aromas and tightly focused, layered raspberry and stony mineral flavors that finish with vibrant acidity. Drink now through 2021. 2,393 cases made. -Wine Spectator 92 Points
In 2006 we moved to Oregon from Napa, where Brian had been making wine for ten years. We bought property in the Willamette Valley (about an hour outside of Portland).
This Oregon adventure is inspired by our desire to grow grapes, make wine, and to have the space for all of Clare’s animals and Brian’s wacky projects.
We named our farm and winery after our goal to provide a gracious and welcoming table for ourselves and friends, with a cornucopia of hand-crafted food and wine.
And now, almost ten years after we took the leap, we have developed this land into a working farm and built a barn and winery. We feel lucky to live here and we are still in awe and deeply grateful for the chance to build this dream and share it with you!
In 1996 Brian worked his first harvest. Having studied fermentation science at Davis, he took to the process of winemaking easily and loved it.
While working in Napa Valley, Brian learned from some of California's most esteemed winemakers and wineries - Turley Wine cellars, Neyers Vineyards, Blankiet Estate and Marcassin, just to name a few. Brian also spent a harvest working in Australia at Trevor Jones Fine Wines.
These varied experiences have contributed to Brian’s ability to optimize each vintage.
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Bright and light golden-yellow in color. Exotic and sweet vanilla bean aromatics backed by pear and kiwi with a slight orange peel. The palate resonates with texture and depth as stone minerality and cream brioche to match. Flavors of roasted plantains, gravenstein apple, and lemon zest frame the wine for a long yet soft finish.
Planted in the early 90’s, this is the coolest vineyard site in the Russian River Valley, located at Lee Martinelli Sr.’s home ranch in Forestville, CA. After riding around with Lee in his pick-up truck when we visited his Woolsey Road, Zio Tony, and River Road Vineyards, he decided to take me to this gem. He kept this particular vineyard in his back pocket until we hit it off. We did, and I think you’ll enjoy the ride as well.
Review:
Elusively crisp and inviting on the nose, this is a thickly intriguing wine, floral in orange blossom and fresh apple. Structured and lengthy, it retains a tangy acidity and structured finish, the grapes sourced from a dry-farmed vineyard. - Wine Enthusiast 92 Points
Lismore Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir
Complex bouquet of crushed rose petals, wild jasmine and fresh French herbs followed by a palate full of cranberry, raspberry and a long savory finish.
The grapes were picked at optimal ripeness. 30% whole bunch fermented in large 5000 liter vats with gentle pump-overs twice a day. The process allowed for a long extraction period which lends to the fruit expression and structure of this wine. The free run wine was drained off and the fermented grapes were then pressed in a traditional wooden basket press. The wine was racked into 225, 300 and 500 liter barrels where malolactic fermentation took place and the wine was aged for 10 months. 35% new French oak was used.
Review:
"On the nose, the 2017 Pinot Noir begins with classic dusty red fruit with subtle red spice tones and hints of oak. On the palate, the wine is just slightly tart, revealing some fresh, zippy cranberry tones with orange spice that lingers through to the finish. The mouthfeel is something like that from the Willamette Valley, where it has a quiet strength at its core, with complex fruit and soft earthy tones. The finish is long and shows great focus and balance. It's beautiful now, but I know it will get better with age. Be patient and let it rest. - Anthony Mueller"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #245, October 2019), 92+ pts
