Here is the rest of the latest from Walter Scott. If you don’t know this winery a good place to begin is with my interview with winemaker/founder Ken Pahlow, posted on my website. That interview and the tasting notes focused on his exemplary Chardonnays. But there is no doubt in my mind that he does equally well with his Pinot Noirs, which spotlight some of the most desirable cult vineyards in Oregon.
I have not gotten specific information of release dates or pricing, so consider this a preview and a guide to what to expect.
These are my top three, tasted over a full 48 hours. Remarkable wines. And here are tasting notes on everything.
Walter Scott 2021 Sojeau Vineyard Pinot Noir
This is a lighter vintage for Sojeau, with flavors focused upon lemony acids and highlights, along with delicate red fruits. 13.5%; $?? (Eola-Amity Hills) 89/100
Walter Scott 2021 Koosah Vineyard Pinot Noir
Front-loaded with light strawberry fruit, this still feels as if it's pulling itself together. The fruit is pure and clean, but after that the wine seems to meaner a bit ahead of a gentle fade. 13.5%; $?? (Eola-Amity Hills) 91/100
Walter Scott 2021 X Novo Vineyard Pinot Noir
Full and fleshy, this is a fruit-laden wine, with blueberries, black cherries and a finish of clean earth. Dense and textured, it threads in ground coffee and baker's chocolate highlights as it winds its way through a long finish. 13.5%; $?? (Eola-Amity Hills) 92/100
Walter Scott 2021 Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir
Smooth as tanned leather, with a touch of that suffusing the palate, this brings plum and cherry fruit to the forefront, like a good, non-sugary jam. There are ample acids as well, and they add a little zip to the finish. This delicious wine is ready to go immediately and held up nicely over 48 hours. It should drink well through the rest of the decade. 13.5%; $?? (Mt. Pisgah) 93/100
Walter Scott 2021 Temperance Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir
This is a fine Temperance Hill, focused and spicy, fronting blackberry fruit against lemony acids. The wine gathers itself in the mid-palate, cloaking the fruit with a weave of earthy forest floor phenolics. It's beautifully constructed and one of the best examples of this iconic vineyard that I've tasted in years. 13.5%; $?? (Eola-Amity Hills) 93/100
Walter Scott 2021 Sequitur Vineyard
It's an endorsement of this winery that Mike Etzel sells them fruit from Sequitur, his post-Beaux Frères vineyard/winery project. No surprise - this is exceptional juice, and winemaker Ken Pahlow has done it justice (by the way, Justice is another great vineyard in the Walter Scott portfolio). Tight, compact, detailed and expressive, this hits hard upon red fruits densely stacked through a mid-palate with supporting acids. A wine to cellar and enjoy through the mid-2030s. 13.5%; $?? (Ribbon Ridge) 95/100
Walter Scott 2021 Justice Vineyard Pinot Noir
Aromatically intense, this brings luscious scents of marionberry preserves along with the richness of biodynamic farming, then follows those trails across broad mid-palate flavors. Dense and textural, it shows underlying minerality as well. Along with the Justice vineyard Chardonnay these two wines emphasize that this is a particularly exceptional site, first planted in 1999 at Bethel Heights. 13.5%; $?? (Eola-Amity Hills) 96/100
Ken and Erika always do a great job. I have enjoyed their wines in the past but stopped buying when they tried to go to a monthly wine club shipment. I find quarterly shipments annoying so there was no way I was going to be interested in monthly shipments especially in the Summer. I really didn't understand their thinking there. I have moved on to other wineries in the area. My favorite Chardonnays lately have been from Morgen Long.