95 Points Decanter
A good bit of this wine comes from Bishop Creek, up to one-third, though it includes five to six other sites. ‘The idea of this wine is to express both the Valley and the vintage,’ says Jean Nicolas Méo. It's both a vineyard and barrel selection and 30% new oak. The aromatics are grounded in red florals, with touches of earth and a spritz of spiced blood orange. The palate is elegant and refined, with tart berries, a silken structure and a beautiful finish of savoury spice. We make the barrel selection for this wine first before we make our single vineyard wines. ‘These are the best sites and our best barrels from the vintage,’ says partner Jay Boberg.
94 Points Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Pinot Noir L'Ensemble is a top 100 Wines of the Year contender. Sporting a reflective medium ruby hue in the glass, it’s pretty and inviting on opening, with pure notes of wild berries, delicate spices, crushed stones, and fresh roses. Medium-bodied on the palate, it’s refreshing and light on its feet, with fine tannins, a clean feel all the way through, and a tapered, mouthwatering finish. Seamless and pure, this is a fantastic appellation wine to enjoy over the next 10-12 years. I would snatch up a case or two to enjoy more frequently.
94 Points James Suckling
Elegant and pure, this pinot opens with aromas of fresh cherries, red currants, subtle flowers, dried tangerine peel and savory herbs. The palate is medium-bodied and effortlessly balanced, with silky tannins and lively acidity carrying the wine to a long, smooth, slightly spiced finish. I like the mineral tension.
93 Points Wine Enthusiast
A steely version, with chiseled acidity and pinpoint notes of cranberry and cherry that are laced with stony minerality, forest floor and rose petal details as this gathers tension toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2033.
Winemaker Notes
A bright raspberry hued color along the edges, a dark core, and a certain viscosity as the wine swirls slowly around the glass that leans medium+. Aromas do not hesitate and seem to pour upward from the glass even before fully immersing yourself into the stemware. A sweet bark and earth aroma is layered with a prickly raspberry liqueur, a freshly cut straw dynamic and brown sugar rolled oats. There's an exotic edible red flower aroma and some crushed white pepper, toasted rosemary and an extremely sweet vine picked hood river cherry that is almost overwhelming to process all at once. Signature Jean-Nicolas Méo texture as this wine shifts and widens its stance across your palate. its racy out of the gate with tight granular tannins, white peach and tangerine flavors. As the texture broadens further a brigade of red and blue fruits emerge and push the structure ever further. It's exhilarating in its freshness but combines a raw juiciness that's simply exquisite. Jean-Nicolas' 4th iteration of this super blend of hand-chosen barrels may very well be his best version yet. Although approachable in the short-term, it's certainly a wine that will improve in your cellar for years to come.
