Hyland Estates Pinot Noir 2015 | Possibly the top under-the-radar find of the year
The Hyland Estate Pinot Noir 2015 is the result of five different Dijon clones seamlessly blended together. Pale garnet in color. Delicious aromas of Bing cherry, tea leaves, cola, and a subtle oak spice. Impeccably structured, the palate hits with a bright, silky attack of black cherry and raspberry fruits with a hint of cinnamon and spice. This wine sourced from the Hyland Estates Vineyard is beautiful now but will continue to build complexity with age. Drink now-2025.
Wine Access: Aromas of rose petals, orchids, dried strawberries, and cherries. Medium body, tight and precise tannins and a long and minerally finish. Drink from 2020.
About Highland Estates Winery and Pinot Noir
If you’ve never been to Oregon’s uber-quaint McMinnville, and surrounding vineyards, you’re missing out on some of the best Point Noir tasting opportunities in America. Case in point is Hyland Estates. In 2015, in the hands of two of Oregon’s premier winemakers, Hyland’s self-rooted vines from 1971 yielded a truly dynamic Pinot Noir, all thanks to Laurent Montalieu, of Robert Parker favorite Soléna Estate, and Anne Sery, who started working in her parents’ Côte de Nuits vineyard at the age of 14.
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This Hyland Estates Pinot Noir 2015 is one of our top under-the-radar finds of the year. James Suckling recently pinned 92 points on this silky, gem, redolent of bright red-berry fruit, sweet spice, coffee beans and deep earth notes dazzles at its $40 release price. But it is truly mind-boggling at $23.99 per bottle. If you can’t get to McMinnville, let this Pinot take you there.
A visit to McMinnville
Last year, I spent a week visiting wineries in the Willamette, McMinnville and Eola-Amity Hills AVAs, on the outskirts of the town of McMinnville. Just north of the town, perched on rolling green hills at the foot of Oregon’s Coastal range, Hyland’s estate vineyard is gorgeous and well worth the visit, but the unique site is much more than picturesque. Summer days at Hyland are cooler than the rest of the valley. More importantly, the wind picks up each evening, ushering in a cool maritime breeze off the Pacific and taking the sting out of the often-blistering summer sun. Over the last 40 years, this distinct microclimate has given birth to what many believe to be the richest, most elegant, and most finely delineated Pinot Noirs in Oregon.
So, if you’re planning a visit, make sure you get up early and head to a cafe called Community Place just off NE 3rd street, smack in the heart of McMinnville, and surrounded by tasting rooms. Order the breakfast burrito, which is packed with smoked pork, eggs, onions, potatoes, salsa verde, crème fraîche and cheddar. Then, hit the tasting rooms and save one of the best — Hyland Estates — for last. If you’re not going to Oregon anytime soon enjoy one of Willamette’s greatest bargains of the year, right at home. Thank us later,
About Hyland Estates Vineyard
First planted in 1971 by four families working together (the Kreimeyers, Markleys, Welches, and Trenhailes). The vineyard spans over 200 acres with roughly 180 acres under vine; making it one of Oregon’s oldest and largest vineyards.
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The Hyland Estates Vineyard sits on a south facing bench at 600 to 800 feet. It resides in the foothills of the Coastal Range in the McMinnville AVA. This site benefits from cooler temperatures in the summer and warmer temperatures in the winter; allowing for a longer and more uniform ripening period. With just over 180 acres planted on volcanic Jory soil holds similar attributes to the red dirt of the acclaimed Dundee Hills AVA. The self-rooted Pommard, Wädenswil, and Coury Pinot Noir vines together with newer plantings in 1989 to Dijon 115, provide a number of blending options from this unique site.
In 1971 only a tiny handful of people knew much of anything about growing wine grapes in northwestern Oregon. That year, four couples purchased and began planting a vineyard on a perfectly-placed piece of remote terrain in the eastern foothills of the Coast Range, southwest of McMinnville.
The common bond between Victor and Doreen Kreimeyer, Rich and Ruth Welch, Dick and Lila Markley and Jack and Ruth Smith was the U.S. Forest Service. They persevered and put in their initial plantings of Coury clone Pinot Noir in 1971.