2008 Retour Pinot Noir

Cherry confiture, sandalwood, vanilla, almond extract, and hints of caramel mark the nose and rather confectionary palate of Woodward’s 2008 Pinot Noir. But intriguingly mossy, woodsy tones underfoot here (found also in this cuvee’s two previous incarnations) supply welcome contrast and push-back. Smoky black tea notes offer further diversity in a sappy, impressively persistent finish. If the confectionary and still somewhat superficially oaky aspects of this wine (which I have tasted twice) tone down, and/or integrate more fully into its (for want of a better word) earthy aspects, then an even more impressive experience will await those who hold bottles for 3-5 more years that its vivacity and sheer juiciness appear to promise. Proudly sixth generation Oregonian Lindsay Woodward inaugurated her label in 2005, after having among other things helped pioneer a viticultural internship program at McMinnville’s (“dry”) Linfield College (alma mater to many inspired vintners) during her undergraduate (and under-age) years in the late ‘90s; worked in public relations at Ponzi; and helped run the Carlton Winemakers Studio, whose founding tenant Erich Hamacher today oversees her vinifications. A half dozen growers in diverse A.V.A.s (that roster since slightly altered and expanded) were under acreage contracts to supply grapes for the ambitiously-priced flagship (and recently inaugurated second wine) covered in this report. Vinification involves up to ten days’ cold soak and spontaneous fermentations; elevage close to 50% new oak. Reporting that it was “going through a little bottle shock,” Woodward declined to show her 2010 on the occasion of my June visit. From barrel, her already deliciously pure-fruited 2011 components showed intriguing, multidimensional promise. “I love acid,” she insists, and certainly none of those most recent samples lacked in that department, or in attendant yet harmonious vivacity. Tel. (971) 237 4757