Tasting 2023 In Oregon
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TLDR: 2023 Oregon Pinot to me will be remembered for wines that are open and beautiful at release. An echo of 2012, 2014, 2015.
Not a lot of things in wine get me as excited as the variability between Oregon pinot noir vintages. Living here for 16 years now means each one conjures memories of that year.
The movements between vintages can be as elegant and surprising as the movement on the palate in the wines themselves. 2021s with their massive (for Oregon) structures, the smaller 2022s when some many lead with their earth or savory notes, and now 2023.
I've heard some pooh-pohing of the 2023s - they're all the same! said to me by more than one winemaker or distributor - but I'm always aware that even in my own mind there's a bit of a contrarian tendency to claim love for the unloved and to snub the easily loved. 2007, 2011, 2019, those were hard vintages to love at release. Now they're favorites for many of us.
How I'm approaching 2023 so far is contextual to what I've done with the previous two vintages:
2021s: I bought good quantities of my favorite single-vineyard wines to hold.
2022s: I mostly avoided this year, which I acknowledge that I may regret if they evolve like 2007s, 2011s and 2019s.
I really enjoy 2023, and have been buying them in reasonable quantities, quite a bit more than 2022. I'm especially excited about the entry level wines - ~$25 and sometimes blessedly still below that - and have bought a reasonable quantity to PnP over the next 2-3 years.
A few specific standouts:
- Evesham's 2023 WV. Ridiculously multi-dimensional for this price: prettiness, ruggedness, brightness, balance, length. This is one you can (or could) get outside the region at Whole Foods around $25.
- Cameron's 2023 Clos Electrique is more open at this point than any vintage I remember. Maybe 2015. Their WV and Dundee Hills are both ready to rock as well.
- Walter Scott's 2023 La Combe Verte. Such bright red fruit, herbal, wide open.
Some winemakers' notes on 2023