Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Iris Vineyards 2020 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

A good value Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is always a reason to celebrate. During a recent webinar with the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association, we explored the 2020 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir from Iris Vineyard. It has a $24 SRP and over-delivers with soft fruit notes balanced nicely with an underlying earthiness. Winemaker Aaron Lieberman explained that 2020 was a tricky vintage, which was marked by wildfires. This caused some adjustments to the picking and fermentation decisions, including extra time in oak barrels.

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Iris is a family-owned estate winery in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Mountain Range, in southern Willamette Valley. The tasting room is 30 minutes southwest of Eugene, Oregon. It is located on the 870-acre estate, with almost 50 acres of vineyard framed by restored woodlands.

This wine uses grapes from five different vineyards that span the Chehalem Mountain, Eola Hills, McMinnville and Yamhill-Carlton AVAs in Willamette. Despite a challenging harvest, we’re happy to say the end result is a highly enjoyable wine that can pair with everything from a nice stew to a charcuterie board.

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