A juicy, tart-edged melange of cranberry, red currant and red raspberry in Erath’s 2011 Pinot Noir Prince Hill picks up saliva-inducing savor from shrimp shell reduction and veal stock, the salinity present on a firm, bright, and buoyant palate translating into a real finishing tang that dovetails perfectly with the incisive invigoration of berry seed crunching. I suspect that this archetypical 2011 and poster child for Erath’s flagship site and its Worden Hill Rd. neighborhood will perform admirably through at least 2020. Veteran vintner Gary Horner showed me a significant share of 2011 vintage releases from Erath, though I did not have time to taste by any means all (and we focused exclusively on Pinots). He opined that higher-elevation sites – even though cooler – seemed to him favored in 2011, presumably on account of the important role played by wind in concentrating flavors everywhere in the Willamette in October of that year. And wind was certainly critical in helping counteract what Horner claims were two of the toughest challenges of this vintage: rot, especially that hidden – along with pink berries – inside clusters; and clusters themselves so heavy that as he quipped “even at one to a shoot, your vines were sometime over-cropped!” Virtually all of the 2011 Pinots here are around 12.5% in finished alcohol, and that’s even after selective chaptalization. An elevage of 11-12 months in 35-45% new barrels is pretty much the routine for Erath Pinot. (For more about this historic winery; its vineyards; and Horner’s approach, consult my issue 202 introduction.) Tel. (503) 538-3318