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What We Say 2007 Janus Pinot Noir
SUPERIOR WINE ALERT:
Any fan of great Oregon Pinot Noir will be struck by the great character of today’s wonderful Willamette Valley Pinot. We only have a limited quantity, so act fast. Enjoy!
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Mission Codename: All in the Family
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Send Agent Red to Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley, where unique Pinot Noirs are born. Locate a stellar example and return with an aample supply for our Pinot Noir-loving Operatives
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Brooks Wine
Wine Subject: 2007 Janus Pinot Noir – Willamette Valley
Winemaker: Chris Williams
Backgrounder: Oregon’s Willamette Valley, just south of Portland and along the Willamette River is well known for Pinot Noir and other Burgundian varietals. Its deep and fertile volcanic soil, cooler climate most directly effect viticulture. Most of the vineyards in this area are planted in the valley’s and hillsides along the river. Today’s wine comes from a unique winery – with a unique heritage. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes, along with his interview with Brooks’ winemaker, Chris Williams, below
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Bright raspberry in color with glints of strawberry towards the outer rim. Unevenly spaced, long thin legs fall slowly down the glass after swirling.
Smell – This Pinot smells like Summertime with notes of rose and raspberry and cranberry. Forest floor and mild vegetal notes greet your senses first, followed by mild hints of fruit. A hint of pepper, Chinese hawthorn and Summer earth round out the scent.
Feel – Bright acidity, soft viscosity and a subtle minerality yield a medium body with a satin mouth feel. Once the wine has opened up the acidity mellows and a velvet mouth feel is revealed.
Taste -Yum! Copious Summer fruit on the palate Strawberry and raspberry are the primary flavors present in this Pinot. These are accompanied by cassis, eucalyptus and subtle pepper.
Finish- Wow, talk about a lengthy finish. The vibrant acids and subtle floral hints linger, supporting flavors all the way through each sip and long after.
Conclusion- A beautifully orchestrated Pinot Noir, perfect as a summer sipper with all of the yummy fruit and acidity that it has to offer. Be sure to bring more than one to your next spring dinner, as everyone is going to want some! This Pinot would be complimented by a rosemary pork tenderloin, perhaps served with lightly slated sweet potato fries.
Mission Report:
WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER
SUBJECT: Chris Williams
WINE EDUCATION: Hands-on
CALIFORNIA WINE JOB BRIEF:none
WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY:I think it’s very important to always show the vintage as part of Terrior.
WINEMAKER QUOTE: Eat, Drink, and be merry!
FIRST COMMERCIAL WINE RELEASE: Brooks is 1998 Willamette Valley Riesling, Chris Williams’ 2004 Ara Riesling
WINEMAKER INTERVIEW
AGENT RED: Greetings, Chris. We are thrilled to be showing your wine today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.
CHRIS: And thank you, it’s always a pleasure to find a new audience to show my wine to.
RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?
CHRIS: It was really more about a friendship I formed with Jimi Brooks that lead me into the business. From there my appreciation for wine grew quickly.
RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?
CHRIS: That would have to be Jimi. I learned everything from him including to always encourage yourself to try new things.
RED: Who do you make wine for?
CHRIS: Myself, but always with a consumer in mind!
RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.
CHRIS: the 2007 Janus is a wine I’m very proud of. I feel it was a standout in the vintage for me with perfumed aromatics, a very elegant mouthfeel, and finishing with nice soft tannins. A wine that will stand the test of time!
RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?
CHRIS: I recently had it with a beef cheek Reuben and it was fantastic!
RED: In your opinion, what makes the Willamette Valley so special?
CHRIS: For me it’s really about the people, the sense of community really shows through!
RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?
CHRIS: Just finished bottling my 2009 whites and now I’m tending to the Pinots.
RED: How would you recommend people approach your wines and wine in general?
CHRIS: A lot like life, you have to always be open to new things to really find your true pleasures.
RED: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
CHRIS: Just……….ENJOY!
RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!
What the Winery Says
Brooks Winery
About This Wine:
In Roman mythology, Janus is the God for new beginnings, as well as endings, the future, the past and doorways. Janus is the God of balance. The ultimate expression of Pinot Noir! Janus is our flagship… the richest, most vibrant and intense blend that we produce.
This wine has beautiful color. Perfect Pinot Noir color. Clear and transparent burgundy red from the center to the rim. When first poured mouthwatering fresh aromatics of bing cherries, ripe raspberries, red currents, wet stones, minerals, tobacco, violets and sage jump from the glass. Over time the wine opens and deepens revealing notes of clean earth, bread dough, cloves, cinnamon and walnut skin. Clearly focused and complex the aromas of the wine herald a wine that is truly classic Oregon Pinot Noir. In the mouth, the attack opens with juicy red fruit flavors and beautifully ripe acidity. The juiciness, focus and freshness of the wine continue through the mid-palate and transform into elegant and beautiful waves of earth and fruit. Ripe tannins and a succulent texture also help the wine along and give it more definition into the long finish. The finish is clean, very very long and focused. Although the 2007 Janus is drinking well now, it has the focus, balance and intensity to age and become more complex over the next 15 years. Beautiful.
WINEMAKING NOTES: The grapes were hand sorted and 100% Destemmed. they fermented in individual lots and went through a cold soak for 7-20 days. After racking to barrel, the wines aged for 11 months in 40% New French oak with a diverse cooperage program: sylvain, rousseau, cadus, billon, gillet, saint martin and damy. these barrels have an element of earth to them, with components of minerality and compost which add balance and richness to the blend.
this wine was filtered.
About The Winery:
FOUNDED in 1998, Brooks is a reflection of the visionary Portland native, Jimi Brooks. His reverence for the land and vines made him a practitioner of organic and biodynamic farming. The great respect for vineyard individuality and mastery of blending, allowed his wines to achieve the greatest depth, flavors and balance.
While Jimi is no longer with us, his dynamic spirit lives on through his wines, family and friends. With the outpouring of generosity and friendship by the Oregon wine community, we are delighted to share that Brooks Wines continues and is stronger than ever. Jimi’s son Pascal who was the ultimate source of his passion for life, is the sole owner of the winery and sister Janie Brooks Heuck has remarkably volunteered her time to lead it.
We are steadily guided with the legacies that Jimi left: his strong commitment to organic and biodynamic farming in the vineyards, gentle approach to winemaking, excitement for future harvests and endlessly promoting how beautiful Pinot Noir and Riesling can be grown and produced in Oregon.
Since our founding, there have been many milestones for Brooks. Many new chapters have unveiled and it has taken years of hard work by many committed individuals to build the solid foundation for our winery today, allowing us to put the final pieces in place for a long life of success and legacy. For the first time in our history, we will be nestled in our own winery space for the 2008 harvest. It’s an enormous endeavor to depart from those that we have worked with for so many years. We invite you to visit our NEW WINERY perched on top of the hill in the heart of the Eola-Amity Hills of the Willamette Valley.
Technical Analysis:
VINTAGE: 2007
APPELLATION: Willamette Valley
VINEYARDS: Hyland, Eola Hills, Momtazi & Corral Creek
PRODUCTION: 1800 cases
ALCOHOL: 12.4%
