A very exciting project from Le Cadeau (and a talented winemaker)

One of my great weaknesses when it comes to wine is the aromatic profile. Of course the wine has to follow through with a balanced palate feel and decent finish in order to maintain my appreciation, but the way to gain my instant attention is to beguile me with layers of aroma. One of the good and bad things about working in the wine industry is that I often find myself passing right over a very nice, well made wine simply because there are several others right next to it and none stand out. If I were to sit down and appreciate any one of them individually I would realize how nice (and incredibly spoiled we are here in the Willamette Valley to have so many great choices) that bottle of wine is. So, a sample of this 2007 Aubichon Pinot Noir came to sit in a glass in front of me recently and while it was amongst several other very nice samples it seduced me instantly with layers of violet and dark fruit. This 2007 bottling marks the inaugural release of this label from Tom Mortimer and winemaker Jim Sanders. These two developed their partnership while working on wines from Tom’s Le Cadeau vineyard on Parrot Mountain. The wine (which they consider one of their upper-tier bottlings) is blended from 3 northern Willamette Valley vineyard sites, Le Cadeau, Anam Cara (Chehalem Mountains) and Vista Hills (Dundee Hills). The 2007 vintage being cooler seems to have helped this wine maintain nice acidity and aromatics, while varied soil types seem to have contributed both dark and red fruit on the palate. a firm but silky tannin structure makes this wine a solid pick in my book and one that should age gracefully for many years. Only 325 cases made, so contact us if you’d like some!

Aubichon Reserve Pinot Noir 2007