Willamette Valley 2023 vintage report: 20 of the year’s most polished and precocious Pinot Noirs

The wines that were made from the 2023 vintage in Oregon’s Willamette Valley are beautiful.

They readily offer the elegance and delicacy for which cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are known throughout the wine world. These are remarkable wines.

The results of a growing season that started cool and slow, and ended rapidly, there’s a grace and refinement stamped across them, from their aromatics to their polished finishes.

And there’s a precocious nature to them, too: perfect for those without patience.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 20 of the finest Pinot Noirs from Willamette Valley’s 2023 vintage

Willamette Valley 2023: 5/5

The 2023 Willamette Valley Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs show equally consistent quality, but as has been the case over the last few years, I find that the Chardonnays are showing slightly better.

The somewhat abrupt nature of the end of the growing season meant that wine-growers had to be ready come harvest time. You might see a few examples of wines where alcohol hasn’t been kept under control, but generally, there’s an elegance to match the generosity of the vintage.

Cool customer

The past three Willamette Valley vintages, 2021 to 2023, feel like a payback of sorts for the disastrous 2020.

The 2021s showed a readiness that allowed for prompt release to make up for the lost inventories created by the 2020 wildfires, while the long, cool 2022 vintage showcased the true beauty of the Willamette Valley.

It’s a properly cool climate, with prime growing conditions extending late into October, which in 2023 meant the wines could be picked at perfection, particularly for those of us who love the cooler years, such as 2019, 2011, 2010 and 2007.

Perhaps 2023 has trumped both 2021 and 2022 – almost a perfect blend of the two, offering the elegance and refinement for which the region is known, coupled with generosity and early availability.

‘The velocity of the vintage was the theme for 2023,’ says Ken Pahlow, owner and winemaker at Walter Scott.

Willamette Valley experienced its shortest period from bud break to bloom, which typically takes about 60 days; in 2023, it was reduced to about 40.

The cool spring was then moved along quickly by very warm May weather. Onésimo ‘Ony’ Mora and his brothers farm more than 20ha in the Willamette Valley.

‘I wouldn’t describe 2023 as a hot vintage, but it was definitely on the dry side,’ Mora explains. ‘When bud break started in April, things seemed pretty “normal” by recent Willamette standards.’

Rapid ripening

‘In June, suddenly we felt that it was coming on fast,’ Mora continues.

‘For us, it meant we immediately needed to do the same work at all of the different vineyards we’re managing, almost at the same time. If we get behind on our hand labour or our organic sprays, then it’s possible we don’t ever really catch back up. We managed to stay on top of it, but barely.’

‘As harvest neared, the “optimal” weather pattern continued, advancing ripeness for us in every site very uniformly,’ recalls Pahlow.

‘Instead of picking over several weeks, it was very compressed. Capturing freshness where things went quickly was the primary driver. Everything got ripe at the same time. We picked several sites on the same day. That’s never happened before.’

The same logistical issues that the Mora brothers dealt with in the vines were faced by winemakers such as Pahlow in cellars up and down the valley, as all of their fruit came in at almost exactly the same time.

Tomorrow: The concluding part of the report and reviews of the best Chardonnays

Top 10 wines of the vintage:

Bethel Heights, The High Wire Chardonnay, Eola-Amity Hills 100pts

Martin Woods, Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir, McMinnville 99pts

Granville, Koosah Vineyard Chardonnay, Eola-Amity Hills 98pts

Walter Scott, Koosah Vineyard Chardonnay, Eola-Amity Hills 98pts

White Walnut Vineyard, Estate Chardonnay, Dundee Hills 98pts

Beaux Fréres, Rogue Vines Chardonnay, Ribbon Ridge 97pts

Crowley, Phoebe Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, 97pts

Goodfellow Family Cellars, Richard’s Cuvée Chardonnay, Ribbon Ridge, 97pts

Cristom, Jessie Vineyard Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, 97pts

Evesham Wood, Cuvée J Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, 97pts

Pursehouse’s 20 great Pinot buys from 2023

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