Oregon’s Bold Pinots, and a 100-Year-Old Australian Beauty

Out of the 548 wines we tasted over the past week from nine countries, it was pinot noirs from Oregon’s Willamette Valley that dominated our highest-rated bottles, with offerings from Antica Terra, Bergstrom, Cristom and Evesham Wood rising to the top alongside a special bottling from Australia and a longtime favorite from Hungary.

The standout of the bunch was the Antica Terra Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills Antikythera 2022 (98 points) – a singular wine from a parcel planted on the western slopes of the Amity Hills, in the marginal, southwestern end of the Willamette Valley, which was once considered too cold for viticulture.

Antica Terra owner and head winemaker Maggie Harrison describes the vines there as “bonsais” with tiny clusters, their growth held in check by the cool onslaught of Pacific winds and thin, volcanic soils. And yet the wine itself is intense and aromatic, showing red fruit, exotic spices, pine forest, sandstone, orange peel and rose petals with a powerful yet elegant structure.

“It is not typical of Willamette Valley or even pinot noir," Harrison said. "It has a moat around it in terms of typicity." Also check out their pretty and perfumed Antica Terra Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Botanica 2023, herbal and savory Ceras 2023 and powerful, full-bodied Obelin 2022 (both 97 points).

Wineries in the Willamette are just starting to roll out the 2024 vintage, and the Bergstrom family, who farm pinot noir throughout the region, presented a diverse and high-quality range of wines when Staff Writer and Taster Courtney Humiston visited, featuring nuanced aromatics, vibrant fruit, luscious tannin and freshness balanced with power across the board. Their 2024 Bergström pinot noir (97), from their estate vineyard in the Dundee Hills, balances mineral and floral aromas with luscious red fruit flavors. All their 2024 wines are approachable now but have the structure to age.

Cristom, in the Eola-Amity Hills, leans into the power that pinot noir from this windy, volcanic region produces. Their 2023 pinots are intense, for sure, but remarkably balanced with all the fruit, delicacy and aromatics to support the abundant tannins and acidity. Their Cristom Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Eola-Amity Hills Marjorie Vineyard 2023 (97) is elegant and structured, with a nervy backbone of fine, chalky, mouth-filling tannins.

The single-vineyard bottlings from different elevations and parcels on the property show a range of botanical, savory and earthy aromas and a compelling mix of red and blue fruits. These are wines to lay down, but they also have enough finesse and intrigue that you won’t regret opening them young, either.

The 2023 and 2024 growing seasons were drastically different, but both produced quality wines with 2023s generally more plush, forward and approachable young while the 2024s are elegant, structured and age-worthy. Daniel Estrin from Cristom described the 2023 harvest as “intense,” thanks to a heat spell in early September. “We were picking as fast as we could," he said. Yet the wines, he added, are well-rounded, measured and balanced.

As for the 2025s, which are still in barrel, Estrin noted that they are showing "a lot more power and oomph." At the very end of 2025, "there were two heat waves that really pushed up the ripeness of the wines without allowing the tannin to soften and mature, so we are seeing a lot more catechin,” he said, referring to a class of tannin that tends to be more abrasive on the palate. “We've been going unfiltered for the last three years, and the 2025 is making us second guess that. We will see how it is looking when we start blending, but we are leaving that door open.”

One of the oldest pinot noir vineyards in Eola-Amity Hills continues to impress year after year for its bright, beautiful floral and red fruit notes – and 2023 is no exception. The Evesham Wood Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Eola-Amity Hills Le Puits Sec 2023 (95), from a vineyard planted in 1986 to own-rooted pommard clones, picks up all the wonderful savory, foresty aromas with freshness, tension and longevity on the palate. It is a delight to drink.

Rodeo Hills is also worth mentioning because they only make wines from their seven-acre hilltop estate in the Dundee Hills under their own brand in certain years. (Jared Etzel, who founded Rodeo Hills, is the son of legendary Beaux Fréres founder Mike Etzel, so the fruit always finds a home – don’t worry!). The Rodeo Hills Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Dundee Hills Pear Vineyard 2024 (94) is a seamless and integrated wine showcasing the surrounding forest with aperol-like bitterness and aromas of wild, savory herbs. It’s wonderful to smell, fresh, vibrant and structured to age.

Centenary Celebration

Staff Writer and Critic Ryan Montgomery tasted an Australian wine that was vinified the year Queen Elizabeth II was born. Since 1926, the barrel has rested in the "Centennial Cellar" of the Seppeltsfield winery in the Barossa Valley, evolving and aging for 100 years until it was bottled earlier this year for release. It remains a truly remarkable tasting each year for Ryan and an experience unlike anything else in the world.

The Seppeltsfield Rare Tawny South Australia Para 1926 (99) pours almost like motor oil, Ryan said, with extraordinary depth and concentration. Aromas of rum, bitter chocolate, salted caramel, nuts, burnt orange, sweet spice, mahogany, dates, cloves, cardamom, leather and varnish lead to an intensely viscous palate, driven by focused acidity and remarkable persistence. Given its rarity and price point, it is not the easiest bottle to secure, but if you can, it is well worth the experience.

Hungarian Rhapsody

Among the dry Hungarian wines Associate Editor Andrii Stetsiuk tasted this past week, Royal Tokaji once again demonstrated why the historical, classified vineyards of the Tokaj region are not limited to the production of sweet aszu wines. Sites such as Mezes Maly, Szt. Tamas, Betsek and Uragya have long been prized for their individuality in sweet wines, with each expressing distinct soil compositions and expositions. In recent decades, Royal Tokaji has increasingly focused on translating that same vineyard identity into dry expressions of furmint and harslevelu, and the results show how naturally suited these sites are to structured, mineral-driven whites.

The Royal Tokaji Furmint Mézes Mály 2023 (95) delivers polish and a fine phenolic grip, while the Szt. Tamás 2022 (96) emphasizes precision and stony focus. From Betsek, the Hárslevelű 2021 (94) shows tension and salinity, and the Furmint Úrágya 2021 (96) combines breadth with vivid acidity. The Vineyard Selection 2021 further underlines the estate’s direction toward dry wines with backbone and energy.

What makes these wines compelling is the balance between ripeness and acidity, supported by volcanic soils that naturally lend structure and minerality. They show that Tokaj’s classified crus can produce dry whites with the same depth and individuality long associated with its sweet wines.

Alongside these dry bottlings, Andrii also tasted the Royal Tokaji Essencia 2017 (99), the estate’s largest Essencia production to date. Though profoundly sweet and concentrated, with 557 grams per liter of residual sugar, 10.4 grams per liter of acidity and just 2.2 percent alcohol, it stands as one of the most extraordinary and rare sweet wines in the world, defined by its immense concentration, natural balance and remarkable longevity.

– Courtney Humiston, Ryan Montgomery and Andrii Stetsiuk contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

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