A Song of Ice and Fire might bring to mind George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” series for you, but for me, it was tasting a lineup of equisite back vintage wines with Carlton Hill proprietor David Polite that had me thinking of this phrase. David poured us a range of his wines spanning the 2010’s, a decade of extremes which saw years marked by record heat, record cold, and a torrential September downpour that gave it the informal name, “the monsoon year.” Despite the variability of the decade, a throughline presented itself in all of David’s wines: textural elegance, bright, balanced acidities, and a certain unmistakable “Oregon-ness.” With all due respect to David, who often refers to his Pinots as Burgundian in style, these are quintessentially Oregonian: a distinctive earthy spice, paired with a cheerful fruitfulness that stands somewhere in between the rambunctiousness of the Russian River Valley, and the at times austere restraint of Burgundy.
Amid the lineup, there were two clear standouts: his 2011, the coldest vintage on record in Willamette Valley history (!), and 2015, you guessed it, the warmest vintage on record. In professional circles, where acidity is often craved more than anything, it’s long been chic to champion cool vintages and sneer at warm years. Tasting David’s 2015, its exceptional nature was impossible to miss. How could a nine year old wine from the hottest year on record have such bright, fresh fruit? Where was the over-ripeness that marked this year for nearly everyone else? Shouldn’t it be dead and dried up, as so many wine conoscenti have declared all 2015s must be by now? And his 2011, while we expected to love it, delivered even more complexity and energy than I could have hoped for. Stay tuned for detailed tasting notes on each wine below.
About Carlton Hill:
Carlton Hill Vineyard was established in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA by David Polite in 1999. After finding an east-facing slope on ancient marine sedimentary soils in Yamhill-Carlton, David and his team planted six acres of Pinot Noir on what he hoped would one day become one of the best sites in the valley. After two decades of thoughtful farming, in which his crew avoids unnecessary use of chemical inputs, his now mature vines are demonstrating that his hopes were well-founded.
In the winery, David has followed a simple approach from the beginning. Without dogma, he seeks to avoid manipulating the wines as much as possible: no yeast nutrients, no added yeast, no enzymes or must-concentrating technology. Put simply, they grow the best fruit they possibly can, and then employ a straightforward winemaking method which allows the character of each vintage to speak for itself. After a native yeast fermentation and gentle extraction, the wines are always aged in around 20% new oak barriques for 11 months. The only variable that changes a bit year to year is the percentage of stem inclusion, which never dominates the flavor profile. The result is pristine, elegant Pinot Noirs which reflect both their place of origin, and the growing season they were born in.
Our 2 pack includes:
2011 Carlton Hill, Estate Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton - Putting my nose into the glass, this was one of the rare wines that stopped me in my tracks for a moment. While I usually quickly jump to clack out my first impressions on the keyboard, every so often I have to just stop and go, “Whoa…” In this case, the first thought that came to mind after returning to the world of words was, “Classic!” Cola, spice, dried black fruits, wet leaves, damp earth. Oregon Pinot to its core. Its intensity cascades from the glass, brilliantly vibrant at 13 years of age. The smell alone induced a shiver – the ultimate sign of quality for me. On the palate, the interplay of its elegantly soft, light texture and bright, refreshing acidity reflect the cool conditions of this unusual, captivating vintage.
2015 Carlton Hill, Estate Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton - A cheerful nose of bright, spicy cinnamon brings happy memories of 1990s Big Red chewing gum commercials to mind. Plenty of black cherry, standing firmly on the riper side of the line – without straying into baked, jammy fruit territory – adds a hedonistic, pleasure-filled note to this wine’s identity. The palate shows great density, with those fresh black cherry flavors staining the palate, again, without a trace of overripeness. Cola spice adds depth and complexity, while its structured, suave and ripe tannins show off the sun and warmth that these grapes enjoyed in the hot summer and fall of 2015. Remarkably balanced and lively at this stage for a wine of this vintage.