2022 Antoinette WV Pinot, 1.5-L Magnum
Levitation: The promise to float
A Story: Antoinette was the name of our grandmother and is, in our view, synonymous with elegance.
The Cliff Notes: Red ruby is the color that shows up in glass. Watermelon, cherry and oiled wood aromatics abound. The attack is cherry-pomegranate, linear and elegant. What follows in mouth is light-on-its-feet sweet cherry, tangerine, cardamom, with warmer clove and orange accents. The seamless combination of acid and tannin suggest elegance, and that’s really the watchword of this wine.
The Building of: Seven best barrels selected, wild-yeast fermentations in wood and stainless steel, 100% barrel aged for 13 months: one new, one once-filled, five neutral. Bottled unfined and unfiltered in December 2022.
Ageability: We absolutely recommend that you consider decanting to get it some air within its first three years. This wine should easily climb in complexity beyond ten years.
Vineyards: Temperance Hill’s (41-year-old) later and cooler high-elevation vines, at the top of the Eola–Amity Hills AVA, deliver old-vine complexity with fresh acidity. These own-rooted vines are from the Front Block, the oldest at Temperance, and their massive root systems go deep to deliver high flavor and nuance to the limited yield.
— Jim Prosser, owner/winemaker
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Vintage | 2022 |
Varietal | Pinot Noir |
Appellation | Willamette Valley/Eola-Amity Hills |
Vineyard | Temperance Hill Vineyard |
PH | 3.50 |
Alcohol | 12.50% |
Volume | 1.5 liter |
Cases Produced | 2 |
Country of Origin | UNITED STATES |
State of Origin | Oregon |
94 pts
The 2022 Pinot Noir Antoinette is spicy, revealing a white pepper tinge to its blue and purple florals as dusty black cherries come to the foreground. Cool-toned and lifted in feel, this washes across the palate with violet-laced wild berry fruits as a note of blood orange adds lovely contrast towards the close. Inner rose tones and incense hover over a bed of fine grained tannins and a blackberry concentration as this finishes dramatically long and refined. Wow. - Eric Guido, Vinous, May 2024
95 pts, Jeb Dunnuck, August 2024