2023 vintage
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, USA · Winemaker: Revealed on enrollment · 22 members
What happened
The vintage, in five moments.
- Dry-farmed year four — vines showed stress by mid-July, but roots held.
- Smoke drift from an east-county fire on August 21. The winemaker paused the livestream and ran lab tests before continuing.
- Pick pulled forward to September 5 to beat a second smoke event forecast for the weekend.
- Blend trial in April 2024 — Pommard versus 777, Crew chose a 60/40 split over the winemaker's initial 50/50.
- Bottled by hand over three days in August 2024. 142 cases.
The final wine
What we bottled.
The 2023 Estate Pinot is small-framed and concentrated — the kind of wine dry farming gives you in a stressful year. Red plum, forest floor, a stony finish. The winemaker held it six months longer in bottle than usual to let the tannin integrate. The Crew got six bottles at Vintner, twelve at Cellarmaster. Two Vineyard Partners received a single-barrel selection with their name on the back label.
From the Crew
“The smoke week was stressful. The winemaker was transparent about the risk, the tests, what they'd do if the numbers came back bad. That honesty is why I'll renew for 2026.”
Still hosting
Revealed on enrollment is back for another vintage.