Fascinating and penetrating herbal notes of dried dill, sassafras, and caraway seeds mingle with red currant and red raspberry in the nose of Adelsheim’s 2011 Pinot Noir Bryan Creek Vineyard, leading to a tart, juicy, and ultimately gripping palate impression. More texturally refined than the corresponding bottling from nearby Boulder Bluff, this finishes with bracing berry-freshness and invigorating seed-crunch as well as saliva-inducing salinity. I would anticipate its being worth following through 2016 if not beyond. Adelsheim winemaker David Paige maintains, “I instantly became a better winemaker when I finally let go of worrying about why it is that grapes from one site taste so different from those harvested elsewhere and focused instead on making the best wine out of them.” The occasion for his remark was a comparison of adjacent Quarter Mile Lane and Bryan Creek Vineyards, which were planted from the same Adelsheim mother block on soils and with exposures identical as nearly as their proprietor and his team let alone yours truly can tell. “Sure, we handle the fruit a bit differently now,” notes Paige, “but that’s in response to the differences we observe right off the vine.” Paige insists, though, that he is anything but a recipe winemaker even relative to a given vineyard or block. “I drive some of the people who work with me crazy I do so much tasting in the cellar, because what I suggest we do with this particular fermentor based on how it’s tasting today might be 180 degrees removed from what I thought we were going to want to do a day or two ago. But now I have more data.” (For a capsule history of this estate and details on its nowadays extensive vineyards, consult my issue 202 report.) Tel. (503) 538-3652

Bright and vibrant, with a crisp texture, this is light on its feet, cutting a swath of stony mineral flavor through the candied raspberry fruit. The finish lingers tautly. Best from 2015 through 2019. 375 cases made.??–HS??Region: Oregon / Willamette Valley / Chehalem Mountains Select to Add