2014 Lange Winery Pinot Noir Three Hills Cuvee Willamette Valley 750 ml

Pinot Noir from Wine & Spirits “Winery of the Year”

The fact that the 2014 Lange Pinot Noir Three Hills Cuvée Willamette Valley was crowned “Best U.S. Pinot Noir” by Wine & Spirits magazine might come as news to the Wine Access friends who have made Lange one of our most popular Pinot Noir brands. But it definitely won’t come as a surprise.

Lange has legions of loyal fans among Wine Access clients, and they’ve likely noticed it’s been a while since we have offered a gem from Jesse. We’re thrilled to announce that the wait is over. Released at $50, The 2014 Three Hills Pinot Noir, bursting with strawberry jam, cloves, allspice, and red licorice notes—is on offer today for $33.99 per bottle when you buy a case or more—32% off.

Jesse Lange has taken the Willamette Valley estate founded three decades ago by his father and turned it into a force: Lange earned Wine & Spirits’ Winery of the Year award in 2012, and consistently turns out spectacular Pinot Noir from their own estate as well as from stellar sites around the Willamette Valley.

Three Hills shows off estate fruit, as well as grapes from the Yamhill vineyard and the famed Freedom Hill Vineyard. 2014 was one of the top Willamette Valley vintages in memory—a 96-pointer, according to Wine Spectator—and this bottling shows it: It is ripe, redolent of juicy red fruit, and a little aeration brings out a ton of spice and a deep woodsiness.

Getting a hold of Jesse Lange can be tough: A few years back, we knocked our knuckles raw on the door of Lange Estate, hoping to score some face time with the young winemaker who had catapulted his family’s estate into Oregon’s top echelon. And earlier this year, Jesse was but a blur at the Willamette Pinot Noir Auction in Newberg, Oregon, where special bottlings by Lange and the Willamette Valley’s other top Pinot producers raised over $700,000 to promote the rising region.

As long as we get our annual tasting meeting with Jesse, though, we’re happy: During our last visit, we spent the day fishing on the Columbia River, discussing Jesse’s recent marriage, the Willamette Valley’s superb 2014 vintage, and basically doing everything except catching fish. But we forgot the sturgeons’ lack of cooperation the moment we returned to the winery and tasted through several of Jesse’s latest offerings, including the Three Hills Pinot.

This is yet another fantastic wine from one of Wine Access’s top Pinot producers—if you know the name Jesse Lange, you know what to do. If you have never tried Lange Estate, there’s no time like the present. Claim yours now.