Oregon’s ‘Miracle’ 2022, a Wild Antoine and an Amarone Balancing Act: Weekly Tasting Report

We tasted 554 wines over the past week at JamesSuckling.com, with Executive Editor Jim Gordon and Associate Editor Andrii Stetsiuk leading the way in Oregon, where multiple winemakers there declared the 2022 vintage a “miracle” during Jim and Andrii's visit to the state.

From their base in Dundee, centrally located in the northern part of the Willamette Valley, about an hour’s drive south of Portland, they tasted intensively for six days in a controlled setting and also visited 12 wineries and vineyards. It was a dramatic week of dark clouds, low temperatures, rain, hail and occasional sunny breaks.

Their tasting included the wines of many renowned producers in the state, including Antica Terra, Soter, Domaine Serene, and Rose & Arrow. More than half of the reds they rated, mostly pinot noir, were from 2022, and almost half of the whites, mostly chardonnay, were also 2022s.

“2022 was miraculous,” said Ian Lombard, the cofounder of Rose & Arrow, which made numerous pinot noirs from the vintage that showed well in our tastings. A heavy frost in the spring of that year killed many young shoots just emerging from their buds, which then prompted the grapevines to send out secondary shoots a few weeks later. This delayed the growing season and expected harvest dates, which immediately caused concerns about whether the grapes could fully ripen before the cold, rainy season would begin in the fall.

“It was a cooler year even after the frost,” Lombard said. “Everything was delayed. But we got a warm, dry Indian summer in September that extended until almost the end of October.  We picked the last week of September, when normally it would be the last week of August or first of September. In the end we got good maturity at lower temperature than usual.  The wines are more ethereal and lighter than some other years.”

Wines like the perennially outstanding Soter Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton Mineral Springs are exceptional in 2022 and balanced for further aging, with its fresh, vivid fruit flavors riding an electric wave of bracing acidity from the first whiff to the long, lingering finish.

The Soter pinot tied for second-highest score from Oregon with another 2022 red, the Antica Terra Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Botanica, as well as two white 2022s – one from Antica Terra and another from 00 Wines. The latter, the 00 Chardonnay Willamette Valley Freya Herman Cuvee 2022, features rich, expansive flavors, moderate alcohol and vivid acidity. The top-scoring wine in this report, meanwhile, is the muscular and tannic Antica Terra Chardonnay Willamette Valley Aurata 2022.

In fact, the balance between vibrant acidity, tempting flavors and substantive textures in a wide range of wines was our most impressive takeaway. It’s nothing new, since Willamette Valley pinot noir makers in particular have prided themselves on an elegant style of wine since Jim began professionally tasting them 40 years ago.

But along the way, producers like Beaux Freres, Domaine Serene and others went for more richness, ripeness and the use of more new oak barrels in aging. Mikey Etzel, the son of Beaux Freres founding winemaker Mike Etzel, confirmed that the winery preferred small yields, peak ripeness and 100 percent new French oak barrels from Francois Freres at the beginning 30 years ago, but has significantly dialed back these measures.

READ MORE OREGON ANNUAL REPORT: A PAYBACK VINTAGE AND PINOTS THAT STOP TIME

Etzel poured an aged wine from their cellar, the Beaux Freres Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge Beaux Freres Vineyard 2015, showing that the more elegant approach of today dates back at least that far. It offers great complexity, focus and freshness, has aged gracefully and potentially has a long way to go. And the 2023 version of that same wine echoes the quality and elegance of the 2015.

“Long term, ’22 is better in quality, and gives more acidity and less overripeness,” Beaux Freres winemaker Damien Lapuyade said when asked to compare the 2022 and 2023 vintages. The latter, he said, “is better in the short term, generous and open in expression, and will find its sweet spot in two-three years, where ’22 will take five years to hit its sweet spot.”

Antica Terra owner-winemaker Maggie Harrison and assistant winemaker Mimi Adams poured their current range at a new, contemporary-style barrel cellar and hospitality center in Amity, Oregon, which retains the natural, organic vibe that seems to be central to their winemaking philosophy.

In an unusual blending procedure each year, they decide which barrels of chardonnay and pinot noir belong together in their distinctive bottlings carrying Latinesque names.

They say no rules apply. They don’t mind richness or complex oak character, and they start from scratch each year. The Antica Terra Chardonnay Willamette Valley Abeona 2022 is a great example, with lavish marzipan, poached pear, toasted almond and honey flavors.

We also made a point of tasting with winemakers who were not well-known to us but whose wines had stood out in previous tastings, and again this year. We highly recommend relative newcomers like Hazelfern, White Walnut and Ayoub, along with stalwarts such as Ponzi, The Eyrie Vineyards, Domaine Drouhin, Cristom, Bergstrom, Evening Land and others whose wines are covered in the tasting notes below.

Sea Horse's Wild Antoine

Senior Editor Stuart Pigott met up with Ze’ev Dunie from Sea Horse Winery in Israel for a tasting of Dunie's wines at Weingut Kaufmann in Hattenheim, Germany. Both Sea Horse and Kaufmann belong to the Twin Wineries project that links German and Israeli wineries in a mutual support network. For Dunie, the connection is logical because his father grew up in Berlin.

Stuart first visited Dunie in his low-tech winery in October 2014 and was struck by the way the wines from the former CNN video editor and film director were totally different in style from everything else in Israel. Back then they were always daring, sometimes also beautiful, but sometimes a bit eccentric, too.

That eccentricity started with Dunie’s choice of varieties he planted in 2000 at his three-hectare estate vineyard in Bar Giyora, just southwest of Jerusalem: syrah, grenache, mourvedre, zinfandel, petite sirah and chenin blanc. This came at a time when cabernet sauvignon and merlot were the standard choices.

The hilltop vineyard is organically cultivated with a unique training system. Grapes from other varieties are primarily sourced in the Galilee region to the north, though some roussanne comes from the Negev Desert to the south.

From the beginning, one of Dunie’s obsessions was a wine called Antoine (named after the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery), inspired by the rich, spicy and structured reds of Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhone Valley. It started life in 2003 as GSM (grenache, syrah and mourvedre) blend, but beginning with the 2013 vintage it took a big step forward when counoise and cinsault grapes were added.

The Sea Horse Winery Wild Antoine 2022 takes this adventure to a new level thanks to its super-fine tannins, richness and kaleidoscopic aromatic spectrum that ranges from red cherry to candied orange peel and allspice.

It is amazingly graceful at the almost endless finish. This was the first vintage Dunie wild-fermented, hence the change of name from Antoine Tête de Cuvée, which was used up until 2021.

Almost as amazing and no less original is the Sea Horse Winery Lennon 2019, a cuvee of 80 percent zinfandel, 10 percent mourvedre and 10 percent petite sirah. It is very powerful and structured on the full-bodied palate and has amazing energy. Dunie’s vineyard is almost 700 meters above sea level, so typically more than 4 degrees Celsius cooler than Tel Aviv on the coast. The wine is, of course, named after the singer John Lennon.

Dunie’s experimentation continues, and the Sea Horse Winery Israel White Labyrinth 2023 is his first white Chateauneuf-du-Pape-inspired wine. This cuvee of 80 percent grenache blanc and 20 percent roussanne is at once rich and tensile, with fine tannins and a compact, salty finish. The white peach, summer meadow and pepper aromas make it another wine that might be considered eccentric in the Israeli context but is actually unique in any context!

Balancing Power with Precision

A recent tasting by Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli of the latest Amarone della Valpolicella vintages did not reveal the shift one might have expected – at least not from the Classico zone. This corvina-based wine, blended with native varieties such as corvinone, rondinella, molinara and oseleta, remains as concentrated, powerful, and extract-rich as ever, thanks to the traditional appassimento drying method.

Over the years, Amarone has largely adhered to a dense, full-bodied, toasty profile, somewhat drifting away from the fresher, more mineral-driven character once typical of the Classico subzone – the small valleys of Marano, Fumane and Negrar – closer to Verona and Lake Garda. Eastern Valpolicella, by contrast, has long been known for its richer, toastier, and sometimes off-dry expressions, a style that has fueled its commercial success.

Today, however, one might expect greater balance and a return to tradition, particularly from higher-altitude, limestone-rich vineyards in the Classico area. With increasingly warm vintages, shorter appassimento periods seem like a logical evolution.

Yet, even when finesse and equilibrium are lacking, a glass of Amarone usually makes up for it in sheer exuberance, offering intense aromatics, palate-coating richness, and multifaceted complexity. The weakest examples tend to suffer from an overpowering, almost charred black pepper note – a hallmark of corvina taken to excess. But there is good news: 2018, a vintage that underperformed elsewhere, has shown remarkable results here.

Among the top bottles from 2018 is the Corte Sant'Alda Amarone della Valpolicella Mithas, a super deep and complex wine with aromas of prunes, plums, and black cherries, seamlessly layered with earthy nuances, salted chocolate and a hint of fresh black pepper. It’s a full-bodied offering with velvety tannins, firm yet ripe graphite notes, crisp acidity, and is slightly lifted yet well-balanced.

The Ca’ Rugate Amarone della Valpolicella Cima Caponiera Riserva 2018 offers a transparent, fragrant expression, with aromas of red cherries, red currants, roses, black pepper and spices. The palate is full-bodied yet crunchy and exceptionally balanced, with firm, slightly dusty tannins leading to long, refreshing acidity and a polished finish.

The Bussola Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2019 stands out for its old-school, evolved style, with a nose rich in earth, dried prunes, bay leaves and coffee grounds. Smooth and round on the palate, it features a full body, a touch of sweetness and ripe, velvety tannins, all balanced by long, refreshing acidity and a highly savory profile.

Meanwhile, the Campolongo di Torbe 2016 was the standout Amarone from Masi, while Brigaldara’s Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva 2016 reaffirmed the exceptional quality of this vintage.

The takeaway? While Amarone remains deeply rooted in its bold, extracted identity, the best examples manage to balance power with precision, delivering wines of remarkable depth and complexity.

– Jim Gordon, Stuart Pigott and Aldo Fiordelli contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. 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.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.