Tart cranberry, tilled soil, crushed pomegranate. Wild raspberry, desiccated rose, Santa Rosa plum. Foraged red cherry, sliced strawberry, and blood orange delicately collide with dried lavender, forest floor, and fallen pine tree in an enchantingly earthy and ethereal display. Captivating high-toned funk expands and radiates with air, casually revealing organic tones of Morel mushrooms that battle with dried seaweed and soy sauce in a splash of of umami-laden delight. Tucked within the gorgeous natural perfume impressions of coriander, cardamom, cedar, and clove provide wafts of subtle yet complex spice to augment beautiful autumnal charm. Fresh, lively, and energetic on the palate despite incredible tertiary complexity; exhibiting outstanding restraint, typicity, and expression of terroir within its intriguingly classic profile. Merely medium in body with elevated fine-grained tannin and bright acidity. This 2012 "Cataclysm" Pinot Noir by Montinore Estate is an impressively nuanced and intellectually stimulating red from the Willamette Valley.

Oregon has long been established as one of the world's greatest growing zones for Pinot Noir, and part of what makes this region so special is the propensity for its wine's to improve with time in the cellar. This bottling, crafted by Montinore Estate using Pinot Noir sourced from a single block of their biodynamic estate vineyard due west of Portland, proves that well made Willamette Valley Pinot can age alongside the worlds greatest examples of the variety. At 8 years of age this wine is still quite young and packed with plenty of tart and fresh wild berry fruit, but its developing natural nuances have begun to blossom and are now allowing for gorgeous aromatic funk to truly shine. While it is in an absolutely sublime drinking window right now this wine promises many years of continued evolution. Very impressive indeed.