A swing by my friends wine shop Pre Christmas yielded this small lot Oregon Pinot Noir. Apparently this was the tasting and dinner I missed when they were in town earlier this year. Glad I was able to score one of their wines.
Located in Dallas Oregon, they make wine "as naturally as possible from soil to bottle" with some made entirely by hand. They press their pinot noir in a wooden basket press aging the wine in both French and Oregon oak. 50 acres of pinot noir vines make up the 60 acres planted which consists of 7 varietals. The other grapes grown include Pinot Gris, Gruner Veltliner, Tempranillo, Viognier and Lagrein, Schippettino and Teroldego which are Northern Italian vines. The vineyards are located in the Mount Pisgah area, the location is known as a prime growing region. Illahe is one of the few vineyards who utilize horse power to mow and deliver harvested grapes to the winery (Percheron Draft Horses).
The 2017 on the nose shows ripe strawberry, wild dark berries, wild violets, dusty earth and a hint of cocoa powder. The mouth is lush and rich with strawberries and intermittent splashes of earth, spice, vanilla and cocoa. At $25 this is an absolute steal for small production Oregon Pinot Noir.
I recommend checking out Illahe Vineyards the next time you are in Oregon Wine Country. I can't wait to swing out and taste even more of their wines.
Cheers
Dan
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