Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2016

Grape varieties : 100% Pinot noir

Alcohol : 13.5%

Guard : 10 years +

A wine to enjoy with a deer pâté en croute with chanterelles, roast chicken legs with Cayenne pepper, a rack of lamb with Provence herbs, a doe tournedos with truffle juice or a 24-month-old Beaufort. refining.

In the United States, 90% of the wine produced comes from California. It was the influx of gold prospectors to California that boosted the California wine industry in the mid-19th century, particularly in the Sonoma and Napa region. At the start of the 20th century, there were 800 wineries. From 1919 to 1933 Prohibition destroyed the vast majority of the California wine industry so that by 1933, only 140 wineries remained producing wine. It was only from 1960 that the wine industry began to recover from Prohibition and California was primarily known for the production of fortified wines (in the style of Port). It was also in the 1960s that some of the most famous estates were created (Mondavi, Heitz Wine Cellars, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, etc...).



In 1976, a significant event took place: the legendary tasting competition better known as the "Judgment of Paris". He sees the greatest French wines opposing the new American wines. This May 24, an unexpected result shakes the world of wine, since to everyone's surprise, it is the United States which wins. However, this competition remains relatively unknown to the general public.



Today, there is no doubt that the United States produces great wines. Even though California largely monopolizes the reputation of American wines with its excellent Zinfandels, the state of Oregon produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world and the state of Washington offers excellent Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon.

Oregon


Oregon, located in the northwest United States, is one of the youngest and most promising wine regions in the world. The state made a place for itself on the international wine map in the late 1960s and has steadily secured its position ever since. Temperatures are moderated by the proximity of the Pacific Ocean, which also results in relatively high precipitation, long, moderate summers, and wet autumns. The region is considered a world-class wine region, particularly for its Pinot Noirs which are now among the finest examples in the world.



The sub-region: Willamette Valley


Home to some of the most elegant and expressive Pinot Noirs on the planet, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, spectacular forests, and small, independent, welcoming winemakers. When it comes to the environment, the valley has one of the most protective policies in the country, with two-thirds of its vineyards being farmed sustainably and more than half organically. Although the valley enjoys a cool continental climate and is strongly influenced by cold, humid winds from the Pacific Ocean, its hot, dry summers allow for regular and uniform ripening of Pinot noir.