Review: 2013 Resonance Pinot Noir Resonance Vineyard
Resonance Vineyard is a sleepy property in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where it’s been selling fruit to various local vintners for decades. That changed in 2013, when the property was sold to famed French wine operation Maison Louis Jadot with the intent of making an estate pinot out of it — the company’s first project outside of France. And now it’s here: the first Oregon pinot noir produced by French winemaker Jacques Lardière, appropriately named Resonance.
The results are quite good, if a bit short of what one would expect from a wine of this pedigree and price. The nose is initially a bit closed off, but time and air help the wine’s aromas evolve. There’s ample herbaceousness here, notes of fresh herbs mingling with fresh licorice and a significant amount of oak, particularly heavy for a pinot.
On the palate, notes of spearmint come immediately to the fore, backed up by gentle cherry and mixed red berry fruits, some orange peel, and more herbal notes, particularly thyme. The finish is tart, heavy with raspberry notes but also fresh, a little sweet, and, again, minty. The modest body and curious structure are both a departure from the typical profile of Oregon pinot noir, and that’s both a good and a bad thing. Good in the sense that it showcases what Oregon fruit can do; bad in the sense that it ultimately doesn’t fit in well with the regional style.
That said, this is clearly a wine that will evolve with time in bottle — I’d like to see where it goes in the next 3 to 4 years.
B+ / $65 / kobrandwineandspirits.com
2013 Resonance Pinot Noir Resonance Vineyard
$65
About Post Author
