Belle Pente Pinot Noir 'Yamhill-Carlton'

Belle Pente Vineyard and Winery is a small, family-owned estate in Oregon’s Willamette Valley known for its deeply traditional, terroir-driven approach to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Founded by winemaker Jill and her late husband Brian O’Donnell in the late 1990s, the winery has built a reputation for meticulous, hands-on farming and classic, non-interventionist winemaking—favoring native fermentations, minimal new oak, and extended aging to let the vineyard speak clearly. Their estate site in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, with its marine sedimentary soils, produces wines of structure, earthiness, and finesse, often compared stylistically to old-world Burgundy rather than the riper expressions common in the New World.

Jeb Dunnuck—93 points—"The 2022 Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton is declassified estate fruit from relatively younger vines, including both free-run and press wine, all direct to barrel. It pours a bright red hue and balances the freshness from the early picks with depth from the press wine. The nose is bright and spicy, showing cranberries, cinnamon, dried herbs, and potpourri. On the palate, it’s elegant, medium-bodied, and framed by fine tannins, and leans into mineral notes on the finish. About ten years ago, they began incorporating 10-20% whole clusters, inspired by the old Cristom wines, and implemented restrained use of new oak. Elegant and charming now, it should drink well over the next 10 years."