A Willamette Valley pinot noir is always a welcome guest at any backyard party or front porch social. With that in mind, I’ve been tracking down pinots that over-deliver on quality while not giving wine budgets a case of the summertime blues.
I’ve listed where I purchased these wines and the price I paid for them. Prices may vary in other locations. The still wines are all 13.5% alcohol by volume, while the “Pinot Pop” is 11%.
2021 Garageland Willamette Valley Rosé of Pinot Noir
Meet the only rosé in the world named after a Clash song. Garageland is made by the highly talented Matt Berson, who joins his wife Angela Reat as the co-owners of Love & Squalor Wine in Southeast Portland.
The Garageland is the color of a pink rose that’s been crushed by a pair of Doc Martens combat boots. Aromas of peach and mint slam up against a mineral quality best described as a concrete sidewalk after a drought-breaking rain. It has a crisp mouthfeel with enough acidity to rock the casaba melon and orange citrus flavors.
$16.99 at Market of Choice-Cedar Mill, 250 N.W. Lost Springs Terrace, 503-596-3592.
2021 Elk Cove ‘La Sirene’ Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
I’ve been drinking Elk Cove’s “La Sirene” for many years, and the 2001 vintage is the best I’ve ever had. Before they run out, you should contact Avalon Wine in Northeast Portland to get in on their stellar deal.
“La Sirene” is packed with aromas and flavors of blackberries, red apples, lime peel and beeswax. Great fruit, modest acidity and smooth tannins make this an easy-sipping joy. And talk about a great price for a 100% Willamette Valley pinot noir. Go buy a case.
$17.95 or $14.95 a bottle when you buy a case at Avalon Wine, 3115 N.E. Sandy Blvd., #127, 503-206-8589.
2018 Boedecker Cellars ‘Solace’ Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
The Solace is another fantastic pinot deal, this time from Boedecker Cellars in Portland. It is made with organically farmed fruit from two Willamette Valley vineyards.
The show begins with Solace’s beautiful garnet color featuring flecks of cranberry. The wine’s darker cherry aromatics are joined by thyme, cured leather and wet pottery clay. The fruit flavors include an interesting combination of dried apricots and dark plums, with bits of cocoa nibs and fresh-turned earth. The tannins are still formidable, while the wine’s acidity is on the modest side.
$19.99 or $15.99 a bottle when you buy a case at Great Wine Buys, 1515 N.E. Broadway, 503-287-2897.
2020 Three Feathers Estate ‘Pinot Pop’
How fun to find a nice sparking pinot noir for under $20? This one is made with fruit sourced from Three Feathers Estate’s Torio Vineyard in the Laurelwood District American Viticultural Area.
“Pinot Pop” catches the eye with a fuschia color that matches its aromas of red raspberries and strawberry bubble gum. Its slightly off-dry red cherry and nectarine fruit flavors intersect with traces of chamomile, lemon and fresh-baked brioche. The bubbles feel soft and lazy on the palate.
If your evening involves a swimming pool or a deck with a view, the summery “Pinot Pop” will not disappoint.
$19 at Skywater Wines, 384 E. Main St, Hillsboro, 971-379-1372.
Non-vintage Crowley ‘dh’ Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
This juice was originally going to be Tyson Crowley’s 2018 “Entre Nous,” Pinot Noir, which sells for just under $40 a bottle. Then COVID and wildfires hit, so Crowley held the wine in neutral French oak barrels until he could figure out what would happen next. It was recently bottled and labeled “dh” as a tip of the cap to the Dundee Hills.
The fruit aromas of black cherry and blackberries are joined by a savory quality that had me craving something meaty from the backyard grill. The flavors of smoky blackberries, orange pekoe tea and ginger are dazzling. This is an incredible wine that you could age for several more years.
$23.99 at Liner & Elsen Wine Merchants, 2222 N.W. Quimby St., 503-241-9463.
2020 J.C. Somers ‘Joie de Chien’ Pinot Noir
Speaking of the Dundee Hills and epic wine values, the “Joie de Chien” is made with fruit from Abbey Ridge, one of Oregon’s best vineyards. If wildfire smoke hadn’t come along in 2020, winemaker Jay Somers would have bottled this under his J.C. Somers Vintner label and you would have paid a lot more for it.
The nose of this wine is an explosion of dark cherries, green tea leaves, dried rose petals and a whiff of wet poolside concrete. Flavors like quince, red rooibos tea and wild strawberries slip and slide across the palate. Modest tannins, silky texture and nice acidity seal the deal.
$23.99 at Barbur World Foods, 9845 S.W. Barbur Blvd., 503-244-0670.
— Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine.
