While the very top of Burgundy may still be the pinnacle for pinot noir for some wine lovers, it is perhaps easier to find outstanding bottles of pinot from Oregon at affordable prices. The consistency in quality of Oregon pinots is fantastic, as we saw in our annual report on Oregon – so much so that James opined that at the price point of $25 to $40, “Oregon generally makes better pinot” than Burgundy. And there are plenty of higher-quality Oregon pinots that can be had at slightly higher prices but still well below what you would pay in Burgundy.
On James’ trip to Oregon earlier this year with Associate Editor Nathan Slone, what he found to be particularly memorable was that “the clear Oregon nature of the wines, particularly pinot noir and chardonnay, shines through in the glass with their freshness and brilliance.”
Even though the 2020 vintage proved to be difficult, with wines risking smoke taint from wildfires on the U.S. West Coast, 2018 and 2019 were both stellar vintages for Oregon. 2018 was a warm and dry season, producing opulent, riper pinots with firm tannin structure. 2019, in contrast, broke a spell of warm and dry vintages. It was cool and wet, with rain close to harvest refreshing the vines, resulting in linear wines with more floral and blue fruit character and distinctly vivid acidity.
