WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir

This Pinot Noir opens with a complex, site-driven aroma profile characterized by expressive dark fruits interwoven with classic notes of black cherry, black raspberry, baking spices and traces of forest floor.

WillaKenzie Estate is a family-owned, estate-driven winery located in the heart of Oregon’s Northern Willamette Valley. Since breaking ground more than 25 years ago, we’ve been passionate about crafting Pinot Noirs that convey a sense of place.

We coined the moniker ‘Place Matters’—the Oregonian answer to the French concept of terroir. True to the vision of our Burgundian founder, terroir is not simply a notion; it’s core to everything we do. It’s in our name, WillaKenzie, which describes the ancient sedimentary soils on which our vines are planted.

OUR CREST

Our name also pays tribute to two of the Willamette Valley’s major rivers: the Willamette and McKenzie, which appear as two sets of waves in the top-right and lower-left corners of our crest. In fact, you may notice waves appearing elsewhere on our website and in the unique shape of our wine label. These expressive lines evoke the rivers as well as the rolling hills of our Yamhill-Carlton Estate. The fleur-de-lis at the center of our crest pays homage to our founder, Bernard Lacroute’s, French heritage.

WILLAKENZIE ESTATE 

WillaKenzie Estate is located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA in the Northern Willamette Valley, Oregon. The winery was established in 1991 by Bernard Lacroute, who was inspired by the Estate’s dynamic rolling hills that reminded him of his Burgundian roots. The Estate is named for the marine sedimentary soil series on which the vineyard is planted, in keeping with tradition that great wines reflect a true sense of place. WillaKenzie remains committed to its sustainable practices by preserving the biodiversity of the land and is Oregon’s first LIVE certified winery (#001). 

VINEYARD SOURCING VINTAGE NOTES 

Overall, the 2021 growing season was warm, dry and lovely. Berries and grape cluster weights were slightly reduced as a result of both cool, wet weather during flowering as well as very dry conditions during the summer. Dry, sunny and nearly picture-perfect conditions continued well into harvest. The lower yields and stunning weather contributed to wines with beautiful fruit flavors, richness and balance. 

VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING 

Grapes were harvested by hand from select parcels on the WillaKenzie Estate located in Yamhill-Carlton sub-AVA and Jory Hills Vineyard located in the Dundee Hills sub-AVA between September 10th and September 26th, 2019. The grapes from each of those blocks were fermented separately and spent approximately three weeks on their skins before being transferred to French Oak barrels. The wines then spent approximately 12 months in barrel prior to blending and bottling. 

ALCOHOL: 14.2% PH: 3.60        

TA: 5.3 g/L 

ÉLEVAGE 12 months French oak (30% new)