93 Points Wine Spectator
Gracefully structured, with a vibrant beam of cherry and raspberry flavors accented by stony minerality and dusky spices. Builds richness toward refined tannins.
 
92 Points James Suckling
Attractively savory nose of mushrooms, sea urchins, cherries, slate and green strawberries. It’s sleek, savory and mineral, with a medium body, fine-grained tannins and a more stony finish. Unfiltered.
 
90 Points Wine Enthusiast
An aroma pleasingly similar to a grape popsicle collides with notes of wet granite, rose petals and clove. Bright red raspberry and cranberry flavors are joined by dark chocolate and coriander. Gentle acidity and soft tannins make for easy sipping.
 
92 Points Wine & Spirits
This wine leads with oak and cinnamon-stick spice, a little muddled at first, but after a few moments herbal, floral components—hibiscus and red fruits, like cranberry and pomegranate, come to the fore. That fruit deepens with air, cordoned off with the mineral grip of the tannins.
 
Winemaker Notes
The Basalte Pinot Noir is our bedrock bottling from the Willamette Valley. It is sourced from vineyards that have fairly thin volcanic clay topsoil over fractured basalt. This type of very rocky soil lends itself to muscular, firmly structured wines, with persistent length. The Basalte captures this expressive character of the soil, with deep red fruit and a fine tannic structure that maintains elegant style.