2018 Red Letter Pinot Noir
Red Letter: A day of significance and importance. Our founder, Jimi Brooks, lived every day of his 38 years this way. This wine honors him and is made from the three Willamette Valley vineyards that Jimi Brooks farmed: Willakenzie, Momtazi and Brooks Estate. We only make this wine once a decade so don’t let it pass you by!
Beautifully elegant and perfumed on the nose, notes of dried rose petals and tarragon meld into a deep, red and dark fruited core with an incredible lengthy finish.
Flavor Notes
93 Points, Cellar Selection | Wine Enthusiast - Lots of spice, raspberry fruit and details of fresh herbs elevate this wine. The grapes come from WillaKenzie, Momtazi and the estate vineyard. There's a phenolic frame of sharp stem and earth around the cherry fruit, and a light seam of sassafras running through the finish. This is a substantial wine with aging potential. Drink 2024–2030.
This wine has incredible structure with such a deliciously fruity core with notes of tea tree and cedar to add to its complexity.
Sommelier
Enjoy this with Amarena cherries dipped in dark chocolate and maybe a sprinkle of Oregon sea salt on top!
Chef
A complex marriage of red and black fruits, this wine effuses intense candied cherries, black licorice, kirsch and dried savory herbs. The entry is bold and voluminous, building into a rich mid-palate and finishing with firm, chalky tannins that reaffirm the wine’s structure and pedigree.
Enologist
Winemaking Notes
A wet and cool April delayed bud break, but by bloom, we were quickly caught up to average tracking for the season. Summer was steadily warm but without heat spikes or temperature extremes experienced in 2016 and 2017.
By mid-September, the vines became weary from much sun and not much water and began to shut down causing ripening to stall. A brief rain event and cool down gave the vines the respite and harvest the jumpstart it needed.
We picked Pinot in a concentrated two-week window running until October 10. The Riesling, however, enjoyed an extended spell of sunny but cool autumnal weather that was perfectly ideal for beautiful ripening lasting through October 22.
The resulting wines from the season are vibrant, fresh, and full of concentrated flavor. A hallmark vintage!
- Type
- Red
- Varietal
- Pinot Noir
- Region
- Oregon
- Appellation
- Willamette Valley
- Vintage
- 2018
- Vineyards
- Brooks Estate Vineyard, Willakenzie, Momtazi
- Filtration
- Cross-Flow
- Case production
- 377
- Aging
- 18 Months
- Crush format
- Hand Sorted and 100% Destemmed
- Fermentation
- Native
- Bottling date
- 2020-06-25
- Vessel
- French Oak Barrels
- Alcohol percentage
- 14.8
- Ph
- 3.48
- Acid
- 5.8 g/L
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