Medium ruby color; raspberry, cherry, cranberry, plum, orange peel, licorice, lilac, roses, thyme, spice, minerality-saline on the nose and palate.
Dry; mild tannins and acidity (3.64 pH; 6.1 g/L TA). Medium body. Smooth, fresh, tasty red fruits with very pleasant finish. Difficult vintage with April frosts and July hail. Setbacks buffered by high fruit set and good fruitiness in secondary buds. Nature smiled at harvest, with Oregon’s rains holding off until late October when almost all the fruit was in. Standard fermentation, followed by eight months in cellar in 100% neutral French oak. The very conservative oak regimen put emphasis on the Eola-Amity Hills AVA fruit. 13% ABV
Amity Vineyards is where it all started in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA in the northern reaches of the Willamette Valley. First planted in 1917, the first vines in the ground in the future AVA. Winemaker Myron Redford purchased the property in 1974, brought in the first crop, and built the first winery in the AVA two years later.
Ryan Harms from Union Wine Company and his brother, Eric, purchased the operation in 2014. The website notes: “Ryan, a modern wine innovator, became interested in reinvigorating the uniqueness of Amity’s past for a modern context and bringing this integral Oregon winery and its beauty to more people.” Meredith McGough was the winemaker. The website notes: “Our winemaking philosophy here at Amity will always be less is more. Given the vineyards’ location, age elements, and unique soil structure, we sustainably farm these beautiful sites so that our vineyards can speak for themselves through the wines.”
Amity Vineyards Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2022 is tasty, smooth, red-fruit driven pleaser. Minerality and touch of saline reflect the volcanic soil notes in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Very reserved use of oak—only eight months in neutral French oak—put emphasis in quality fruit adroitly managed in a testing vintage. Willamette Valley can claim to be the premier pinot noir region in the U.S.—California will bark about that—and this entry-level premium pour more than holds its own against similar-priced and more expensive efforts. $25-30
Pairing—grilled, roasted, smoked salmon is classic; honey-glazed, salmon tournedos with caramelized turnips. Game—duck, quail, bison flat iron. Lamb with rosemary, thyme, or lavender. Mushrooms—chanterelles, porchini, morels; wild mushroom and burrata bruschetta. Cheese—delicate washed-rind and nutty, medium-firm do best; young taleggio, teleme, quadrilla di bufala; Briar Rose Creamery’s Maia from Dundee; gruyère, Helvetia Creamery’s Bergkase; comté, young manchego; brie, camembert; avoid cheeses with strong flavors, funky flavors.
