A Glimpse Into the 2012 Vintage Oregon Pinot Noirs at R. Stuart & Company

A few weeks ago, when I was in McMinnville to pop the cork on some Pinot Noir that some other wine writers and I blended last summer, I was lucky enough to get a glimpse into the 2012 vintage Pinot Noirs at R. Stuart & Company.

Located in the heart of Oregon Pinot Noir land, R. Stuart & Company winery is set in McMinnville’s historic Granary District.  Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris is the focus at R. Stuart, but they also produce a dessert wine, a Rosé, a couple Rieslings, a sparkling Brut and a stellar Tawny Dessert Wine (aka Port).  Owned by a super fun couple, Maria and Rob Stuart, the wines they produce are broken into several different categories:

• Big Fire – the Big Fire labels are used for what the Stuarts call their Tuesday night wines, “Big Fire is our everyday Pinot. Rob makes it in a style that is easy, approachable and perfect for drinking right now.”
  
• R. Stuart – the R. Stuart labels are used for the wines that are a little more special, the wine that’s consumed on Saturday night. “These are the wines that you’ll save till the moment is right. Rob makes them so that they’ll taste wonderful now, and will only improve with age – if you can stand to lay them down!”
• Vignette – a special label that Rob calls the “gratification Reserve,” he combines juice from the warmer sites to create a juicy, delightful wine.
• Autograph – the Autograph label is used for their benchmark Pinot Noirs. “Rob chooses fruit from a handful of vineyards and blends them into a wine that is complex, intriguing and perfectly balanced.” 

When I met Rob at the winery, he handed me a Riedel Oregon Pinot Noir glass and we headed towards the stacks and stacks of barrels filled with Pinot Noir.  None of the wines we tasted were through malolactic fermenation, so they would change a bit before being bottled (or blended to be bottled), but we were able to identify many characteristics.  Rob explained that what we wanted to see when tasting the Pinot Noir: purity of fruit and to see what the raw material is that we’re working with.  We tasted through several single vineyard 2012 Pinot Noirs, and to give you an idea about what will be coming from R. Stuart in the future, I’ve complied some notes on each of the Pinots we sampled.

2012 Tukwila Vineyards Pinot Noir:  Right outside of McMinnville in Dundee, immaculately and sustainably farmed Tukwila Vineyards has Jory soil that comes down into Woodburn soil.  Woodburn is so vigorous that concentrated fruit is difficult to achieve, so blending this one with some more concentrated fruit may be the ticket to a delectable finished product.  I detected classic cherries and soft tannins.

2012 Melrose Vineyards Pinot Noir:  Melrose is located in the Umpqua Valley, and the site is a bit warmer than the Willamette Valley.  Thicker skins and bigger clusters make this southern Oregon Pinot Noir look completely different than what is grown in the Willamette Valley.  Raspberries galore, a certain depth and pleasing texture with mid-palate beauty, I was a little amazed at how different this one was compared to the Tukwila.

2012 Menefee Vineyards Pinot Noir:  A relatively new vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton district, this site is very cold, high up, and faces southeast on jory soil. Blueberries and blackberry cobbler with high acid (which I love).  I really thought this one was pleasingly interesting.

2012 Hershey Pinot Noir:  Also in Yamhill-Carlton, this site is much warmer than Menefee.  Nice blackberries, plum and mid-palate acidity.

2012 Elkhorn Ridge Pinot Noir:  Located on a prime site near Monmouth, Oregon, this is the vineyard that our group of wine writers chose as the base for our blended Pinot Noir – we all thought it was fantastic.  I detected mainly sweet cherries and plums; in addition to, having much lower acid than the others.  This one is a beauty.  It’s lush, juicy and completely palate pleasing.

2012 Weber Pinot Noir:  Located in Dundee Hills and planted in 1983, this own-rooted Pommard clone Pinot displays sweet-spicy notes and hints of earth that create a really beautiful complexity and weight.

2012 Ana Pinot Noir:  Rob actually scaled the barrels to reach this one (see photo).  Planted in 1976, this is genetically the same as the Weber Pinot Noir and sits just 15 feet away.  The only difference between the two is the amount of time it’s been in the ground.  Amazingly different from the Weber, this one was more lush and well rounded with not nearly the spice that the Weber had – I thought it was incredible.

2012 Daffodil Pinot Noir:  Daffodil is a really warm site that Rob says is absolutely gorgeous.  Located in the Eola-Amity AVA,  it’s a warmer than average site and the fruit is all about the black cherry flavors that are most certainly prominent.  Fruit forward, soft acid, super delicious.

After getting a glimpse into some of the much talked about 2012 vintage, and feeling like quite the lucky wine gal, I think it’s safe to say we Oregon Pinot Noir lovers are going to be in blissful Pinot heaven once the 2012s are released.

A simply put discolsure from Rob about sampling these ’12 single vineyard Pinot Noirs: “You’re tasting 2012s, so these are all gorgeous.  It’s a stunning vintage.”  Stunning, indeed.

Visit the R. Stuart Wine Bar in downtown McMinnville: 528 NE 3rd Street, McMinnville, OR 97128. rstuartandco.com

*A very special thanks to Rob Stuart for taking time out of his busy schedule to give me an incredible glimpse of what’s to come, cheers.