| Producer | Freja |
| Country | United States |
| Region | Oregon |
| Subregion | Willamette Valley |
| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
| Vintage | 2015 |
| Sku | 02980 |
| Size | 750ml |
| ABV | 13.70% |
Lots to talk about here, starting with the pretty absurd notion of a seven year-old Willamette Pinot Noir being a) the winery’s current release and b) selling for <$20. Willy Gianopulos has been growing Pinot on the Laurelwood soils of the Chehalem Mountains since 1988 and making his own wine since 1998. With a winemaking heritage from his family in Greece, a chemical engineering degree from Sweden and a love for Burgundy ignited by a magical visit to the Cote d’Or, Gianopulos takes his own path to Pinot Noir deliciousness. Harvested by hand, aged in Oregon, Hungarian and French barrels (10% new), and then held at the winery until he thinks the wine is ready to drink, this is not the everyday approach to Willamette Valley Pinot!
Better yet, the tasting is even better than the talking. Compelling aromas (that get even better with air) feature scents of dark cherry, ripe raspberry, charcoal, fresh earth, sweet spice and crushed chalk. It’s vibrant and fresh on the palate (somehow just 13.7% in the hot 2015 season), with generous fruit, spice and earth flavors and the kind of finely rounded tannins that you only get with time in bottle. The wine will certainly go another half-dozen years in cellar, but it’s in a great place right now, showing the kind of blend of New World fruit and Burgundian savoriness that the Willamette Valley is famed for. Total production here is <2,000 cases, so there’s not much to go around. Worth grabbing a double handful.
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