2012 Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains Nuages
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Tasting notes
Brilliant red. Sexy, highly perfumed aromas of fresh dark berries, candied rose, allspice and smoky minerals, with a hint of vanilla in the background. Zesty and incisive on the palate, offering juicy black raspberry and floral pastille flavors and a bracing suggestion of blood orange. In a graceful style but not at all lacking for depth or power. Closes sweet and long, with lingering spiciness and slow-building tannins.
Critic scores
Average Score
Josh Raynolds
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Pinot Noir Nuages Chehalem Mountains includes 10% whole-cluster fruit and sees 20 months in barriques, 25% new. It comes from vines that are adjacent to the winery. It has a well-defined, crisp and "airy" bouquet that is very focused. The palate is sappy on the entry with blueberry and wild strawberry notes, a slight lactic note, hints of dark chocolate toward the finish that does not quite possess the precision of the Dundee Hills Pinot Noir. Still, there is good substance and feels velvety in the mouth on the finish. Enjoy this over the next 5 or 6 years.