Pinot lovers!

Are you ready for another triumphant, chest-pounding first for Wine Spies?

We’re coming in hot with a gorgeous single-vineyard Pinot Noir from one of Oregon’s preeminent wineries, WillaKenzie! Normally a $60 bottle, and rarely seen outside the winery - let alone offered at a shockingly affordable $36.

If you fancy those big names like Ken Wright, Domaine Serene, Antica Terra you will LOVE this one.

Perhaps that’s because it’s made by Erik Kramer, a mad scientist (literally, he’s got a degree or two) and seasoned expert in all things Willamette Valley - especially Pinot Noir. He came on board to take WillaKenzie Estate to the next level, bringing in a load of experience from other ultra-premium wineries like Domaine Serene and Adelsheim.

Erik really leveled up their quality, as noted articulately in this snippet:

“The wines of Oregon’s WillaKenzie Estate are priced to impress. They’re made that way, too. Winemaker Erik Kramer, who joined WillaKenzie after a 13-year career split between the Willamette Valley’s highly regarded Adelsheim and Domaine Serene wineries, has been on a roll… All wines were a brilliant reflection of Kramer’s bedrock philosophy and approach to winemaking. For starters, they were crisp, fresh and clean with exceptional balance and a deft touch of oak. Despite the generous use of new French oak barrels, the influence of the wood was remarkably subtle. The Pinot Noirs were stunning, including the relatively modestly priced 2017 Jory Hills Estate Vineyard… an elegant Pinot that shows exceptional fruit purity, impressive structure, and a pleasing finish with a touch of tannin on the back end.”

Priced to impress - and at our discount, it’s priced to ASTOUND. We tasted through several of their wines recently. Everyone was good, but this was next level. Incredible purity. Crazy balanced. Silky and rich. Delivers a rush of lavish red cherry, rhubarb, and pomegranate all baked into your mom’s pie crust with a lip-smacking acidity to balance it out. Truly a classic, age-worthy wine with a ton of life ahead of it. Assuming you can resist of course!

Our idyllic plate to pair has an apple juice brined pork chop as a centerpiece, with crispy shallots, bacon bits, duchess potatoes, and mustard greens, mmm.

So, what’s Jory? This stunning vineyard’s name is derived from the bright red volcanic soils on which the grapevines are planted. This lush volcanic red soil gives grapes an array of red and blue fruits, supple mouthfeel, and seamless texture. The Jory Hills vineyard is generally east-facing and, as a result, receives extended sunlight in the early morning hours.

This superb vineyard is shared only by sister label Maggie Hawk, another clown jewel from the luxury portfolio of Jackson Family Wines that includes Penner-Ash, Vérité, Lokoya, Cardinale, Stonestreet, La Jota, Mt. Brave, Anakota, to name a few.

This otherwise winery-direct Wine Spies exclusive is highly limited as one would expect.