Is there a better or more consistent Oregon Pinot Noir than Bethel Heights? Every vintage scores 92-94 points across the board, and their 2022 Estate Pinot Noir is another highly successful wine. Look it up online if you want, but I can tell you that every major publication loved the new release.
Lynn and I had a bottle last night, and we were both wowed by the wine's balance of fruit, earth, and spice, the classic trio of characteristics that Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is known for. If you want a wonderful Oregon Pinot to serve with Thanksgiving this year, this would be perfect.
2022 Bethel Heights Estate Pinot Noir
An absolute no-brainer from one of Oregon's most trusted estates!
$38.99/bottle -- 10% off in mixed or solid six-packs, 20% off in mixed or solid cases
Since 1977, Bethel Heights has been producing classy and classic Oregon Pinot Noirs in the Eola-Amity Hills district of the Willamette Valley. Today, those old, firmly-rooted vines provide the "stuff" that goes into all of the estate's Pinot Noirs. Age of vines and low yields are the name of the game here, and you can taste it in the finished wine.
Experience also played a key part in this wine's success. Vintage 2022 was a tricky one for Willamette Valley producers. They dealt with frost, heat, hail, and just about everything that Mother Nature could throw their way. Some producers triumphed over the conditions, others floundered. Under the watchful eye of second generation grower and producer Ben Casteel, Bethel Heights succeeded, producing an epic Estate Pinot Noir.
Vinous Media summed it up nicely, saying this "is not only a spectacular entry point to the Bethel Heights style, it's also a fantastic value." Like I said prior, this is a wine that really personifies the classic Willamette Valley style. Offering up gorgeous notes of ripe dark cherry, raspberry, cranberry, orange peel, brown spices, and loamy earth, it glides across the palate with silky tannins and taut and vibrant acidity.
This wine truly encompasses the entire breadth of expression at Bethel Heights. It blends fruit from all the different sections of their estate vineyard, really allowing the vineyard and the Bethel Heights style to ‘speak.’ You get the youthful exuberance of their youngest vines planted in 2002 combined with the brooding, earthy complexity of their old, own-rooted vines to create a symphony of flavors.
This is always one of Oregon's top Pinot Noir values, and the 2022 lives up to this reputation again. If you can save some for Thanksgiving, this will both elevate the feast and please your guests. If you can't wait that long, I totally understand. I couldn't either :)
