2012 Stoller Vineyard Pinot Noir
WINEMAKER’S NOTES
Stoller has always been a fleshy and beautiful site for Pinot Noir, but this is one of our favorites in recent memory. 2012 opened itself fully to great ripeness, with restraint, and showing perfect amounts of acid and fresh fruit. The deep garnet color speaks levels about the intensity of the vintage, aided by chewy tannins, cassis, leather, and rich mocha flavors. This one can age for eons, and may need a fat Ribeye steak for dinner. Move over Cabernet, here’s Stoller 2012 Pinot!
VINTAGE OVERVIEW
This was a uniformly excellent vintage in the Willamette Valley, moreso than the past few years where some winemakers read it well and others may not have. The weather was storybook, almost entirely positive, with the Grinch of hail in one or two localized sites proving we’re as vulnerable as Burgundy. The heat accumulations are the 5th highest in the last 16 years, putting ripeness in the league with 2004 and 1998. The perfectly warm and completely dry growing and ripening seasons kept disease away and pushed full ripeness without sacrificing acid structure. Check back later to see if it is even more than a great year.
93 Points - Vinous
91 Points - Wine Spectator
91 Points - Wine Enthusiast
Rich Mocha, Cassis, Chewy Tannins
