Cranberry compote, bright spearmint, black raspberry purée. Plump strawberry, French vanilla, orange zest. Juicy dark cherry, tart blueberry, and rhubarb pie form a beautifully concentrated and expressive core lifted by the tremendous freshness of evergreen, pine cone, and spring forest floor. Violets and crushed rose petal meekly emerge to provide delicate floral overtones as clove and coriander contribute a pleasant dusting of baking spices. Mocha and roasted tobacco reveal a pretty and polished sheen while mild soil tones of iron and fine loam expose delightful earthiness that concludes in an interestingly dark minerality. Clean, amply endowed, and nicely complex; currently still quite structured and primary yet promising plenty of beneficial development with age. Medium plus in body with elevated levels of both tannin and acidity. This 2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Reserve by Ponzi Vineyards is a well balanced and beautifully constructed Oregon red.

When Dick and Nancy Ponzi founded Ponzi Vineyards in 1970 they had a hunch that Oregon's Willamette Valley could produce world class Pinot, and by investigating that hunch they helped to pioneer what has become one of the worlds greatest cool climate viticultural regions. This bottling, crafted by Ponzi Vineyards using Pinot Noir sourced from select sites in the Chehalem Mountains, proves that after 50 years of Willamette Valley trailblazing the Ponzis are still at the top of their game. Coming from the warm 2016 vintage this wine is quite ripe and plush with excellent concentration and structure, and it possesses an interestingly clean and almost minty quality along with subtle earthiness and a tasteful kiss of oak. This is an unquestionably delicious offering that showcases the more modern side of Willamette Valley Pinot viewed through the lens of a classic producer.