Bethel Heights’ 2010 Pinot Noir Southeast Block reflects a deeper soil than that of other blocks of Bethel Heights. A maritime mingling of salt and alkali along with black tea smokiness and bittersweet floral perfume inflect dried cranberry, dried cherry and red licorice in the multifaceted nose and interactively complex palate performance of a Pinot that should remain more than merely viable over the next 8-10 years.
Ben Casteel returned home in 2005 from a stage in Burgundy and a five year stint at Rex Hill to work a crush alongside his father and founding winemaker Terry; after which, he took over that job. Cousin Mimi Casteel – whose background is horticulture and forest ecology – acts as both general manager and viticulturalist. This site northwest of Salem, whose oldest block dates to the Casteels’ original 1977 and 1979 plantings, is known for consistently delivering fine Pinots, although the Casteels also source somewhat beyond its bounds and are serious about white grapes – theirs and those of neighbors – as well, even if with mixed success. The team here is beginning to favor a certain percentage of whole clusters and stems in Pinot depending on vintage, though fermentation is usually still induced by inoculation.
Tel. (503) 581-2262
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