Dundee Hills Wines Included Among the Year’s Best

Paul Gregutt released his favorite wines of the year from the Pacific Northwest and featured three Dundee Hills selections among them representing three separate varietals: Sparkling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

• Domaine Serene 2014 Evenstad Vintage Reserve Brut – This vintage reserve is two thirds Pinot Noir and one third Chardonnay, all estate-grown, and spent over six years en tirage. Like vintage Champagne this puts a focus on purity of expression. Still tasting quite youthful, it’s packed with crisp apple, steely acids and a tightly wound core along with highlights of biscuit, meringue and lemon zest. 
• Domaine Drouhin Oregon 2021 Arthur Chardonnay – It’s hard to imagine a more reliably brilliant Oregon Chardonnay vintage after vintage than DDO’s Arthur. Its textbook structure, compelling style and exceptional balance place this at the top of the state’s offerings. The fruit is picked at perfect ripeness, the acids provide a refreshing lift and the use of DDO’s proprietary barrels gives the wine a lush but never intrusive toastiness.
• Lange 2021 Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir – A bowlful of berries, red, blue and black, with a citrus kiss of tangerine leading the way into the mid-palate. This young wine opens up beautifully given a brief breathing window, adding gentle touches of licorice, coffee and black tea as it trails out the back door. A truly marvelous wine that should have a decade or more of great life ahead.

Rather than focus on the national wine scene, Gregutt gives his attention to wineries in the northwest, many of whom are relatively undiscovered gems. To see the full list on Paul Gregutt’s Northwest Wine Guide, click here.