Three Vintages of Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir
A look at how the estate wines from the Oregon project of Maison Louis Jadot are aging
The Résonance Vineyard was purchased to anchor Jadot’s new winery – the first outside of Burgundy. Already well-established, the vineyard had provided the grapes for many highly-rated wines, including Peter Rosback’s Sineann Reserves. Jadot set up temporary winemaking in a shed behind Trisaetum, where these first few vintages were produced.
As the winery website explains, “It was a crisp spring day in April 2013 when Thibault Gagey and Jacques Lardière set out to survey a well-established vineyard named Résonance. Jacques had just retired after leading winemaking at Maison Louis Jadot for 42 years, and Thibault, whose family has operated Maison Louis Jadot since 1962, was ready to enter the business with a bold new project. They immediately felt a deep connection with the place, and after tasting through dozens of wines made with the vineyard’s fruit, Jacques sat back and said, “Perfect.”
Pierre-Henry Gagey, the President of Maison Louis Jadot and Thibault’s father, agreed. They decided to keep the vineyard’s title, and they also named their new winery in its honor.”
A few days ago I decided to pull a few bottles of this special wine from the cellar to check on their development. They came from what has turned out to be a string of brilliant vintages for the Willamette Valley. I tasted them (with visiting friends) over a period of many hours, each wine getting multiple tastes from the time the first cork was pulled until the last drop was drained about eight hours later.
All were impressive. Over the course of the evening each of them became my favorite. As only the finest wines do, they not only changed with the passing hours, they evolved and improved in the glass. After slumbering for a number of years, it’s not at all unusual for wines to be shut down when first opened. Only the 2016 required a bit of extra time to open up, which it did toward the end of the evening.
I was delighted to find that they were all unique and different from each other, every wine clearly expressive of its vintage as well as its terroir. Here are my reviews of the wines as they are currently drinking. Below each is my original review when the wine was first released. As you can see, some of my original scores were a bit cautious, but given ample time to develop into mature wines, these all deserve the higher numbers from the recent re-taste.
Résonance 2015 Résonance Vineyard – Firm, expressive, plummy and spicy with light suggestions of marionberry pie. This lovely wine from a great vintage is focused and balanced. The finish lingers gracefully, and flavors were good when first opened right out of the cellar. With a bit of air and slight warming it shows itself as a smooth, supple, well-rounded Pinot that should have another solid decade of development ahead. 94/100
Résonance 2015 Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir – This is the estate vineyard bottling from Maison Jadot’s Oregon project. As 2018 will mark the first vintage made in the new Résonance winery, it’s not surprising that some variation will be found in previous vintage, which were made under less-than-optimal conditions in a borrowed facility. The 2015 is sharp and peppery, with dark fruits, supple acids and hints of char and smoke. The tannins, at first a bit gritty, smooth out with some hours of breathing time. Best drinking window here may be 2020 to 2025. 90/100
Résonance 2016 Résonance Vineyard – Aromatic and spicy with cranberry and raspberry fruit. This is still quite tight, compact, with seemingly higher acid than the 2015, which plays out more broadly with lush fruit further along toward maturity. As noted many times in recent tastings, 2015 is drinking beautifully, 2016 needs more time. That said, after being open for hours, the 2016 filled out nicely. 93/100
Résonance 2016 Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir – Still in the early going for Jadot’s new Oregon project, this marks a step up from the previous vintage. Lushly fruity, it mixes floral aromatics with ripe red berries and cherries. A touch of cocoa powder mirrors the impact of 15 months in 30% new French oak. Barrel toast and cookie dough flavors accent the finish, which firms up with balancing acidity. Editors’ Choice. 93/100
Résonance 2017 Résonance Vineyard – Tasting these three vintages together at different ages (relative to their vintages) the specificity and detail is impressive. All are drinking very well, but showing different aspects of this exceptional vineyard, previously featured as part of the Sineann portfolio. This 2017 is forward, inviting, refined, let's say sculpted (a phrase I learned from Robert Mondavi years ago). It's subtle and layered, with pomegranate, berry, dark chocolate and a dusting of Asian spices. Among the three wines mentioned here it is from the start the most compelling. Not to say it won't continue to evolve, as will they all, but right now it is really hitting on all cylinders. 95/100
Résonance 2017 Résonance Vineyard Pinot Noir – Lovely aromas of blackberries, along with hints of pepper and smoke, lead into a tasty wine with more berries and plums. Aged 17 months in 30% new oak, it's got a streak of roasted coffee, and further highlights of Dr. Pepper, buoyed with ample acidity. 92/100