2016 Cherry Hill Winery Estate Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Eola-Amity Hills 750 ml

This year’s Willamette Valley Wine Auction was supposed to be the grand finale of our two week trip to Oregon, so when it got canceled just days after our arrival, we headed straight to The Blue Goat Farm to console ourselves with one of most focused local wine lists in the area. The restaurant features only Eola-Amity Hills wines, which is how we discovered this 2016 Cherry Hill Estate—a paragon of the subregion’s famous Pinot Noirs without the sticker-shock.

Small in acreage but mightily defined by its sliver of volcanic basalt and sedimentary sandstone, Eola-Amity Hills remains one of Oregon’s top zip codes for ultra-premium wines. Considered the Vosne-Romanée of the Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir lovers recognize this region as the source of some of Oregon’s most prestigious producers, like Lingua Franca, Evening Land, Antica Terra, and Cristom. We tried to splurge on one of those, but since we were from out of town, the sommelier urged us to try something new that she’d recently put on the list.

Intrigued by the ratio of her enthusiasm for the Cherry Hill to its listed price, we went for it. Sure enough, with its bright red cherry tones, exotic spice, and complex earthen notes, this 91-point 2016 Pinot had much of the same character we love in Eola-Amity Hills’ top estates—making its $35 winery price a bargain, and $20 price a downright steal.

Dried red fruit, Chinese five-spice, and fresh-picked mushroom aromas left our mouths watering before the wine even hit our lips, where savory cherry lingered alongside alluring brown spice seasoning and woodland forest notes. Secondary flavors of licorice and orange peel add additional layers of Burgundian-style complexity to a lively, lifted palate. A thread of minerality is supported by tea-like tannins on the supremely balanced finish.

In his 2016 vintage roundup for Vinous, titled “Oregon: An Embarrassment of Riches and Richness,” critic Josh Raynolds wrote, “I think it best to consider the myriad wines in the $30-$50 range that easily compete with Pinots at similar and often (much) higher prices from California, not to mention Burgundy.”

The Burgundy comparison doesn’t stop there with this overperformer. Located about an hour south of Portland, Cherry Hill Winery lies directly atop the 45th parallel—halfway between the equator and the North Pole, at the same Pinot-friendly latitude as Burgundy. It sits on the cusp of Oregon’s Coast Range, which separates the Willamette Valley from the Pacific Ocean. The grapes benefit from cool breezes that keep wines like this 2016 Estate Pinot so bright and crisp.

We made our way to the vineyard the very next day to meet with winemaker (and vineyard manager) Ken Cook, who told us he’d hoped to make a splash with this very wine at the Auction. 

Taking note but playing it cool, we made small talk about the wild cherries that have always grown in his native Jory soils, and how he credits the 100% Pommard clone for this wine’s rounded, high-toned red fruit character as well as its boldness and depth.

Then we cut to the chase: With no auction to showcase the wine, we were able to negotiate special under-$20 pricing, and introduce Wine Access members to a stunning new Willamette Valley favorite. 

A deal like this doesn’t happen often in warm, near-perfect vintages like 2016. Wine Spectator echoed Vinous’s breathless vintage report with its own, titled “Oregon Strikes Gold with 2016 Pinot Noirs” while a New York Times reviewer summarized, “I can’t help but conclude that Oregon is right now the single most exciting winemaking area in the United States.” 

Sensational value wines from benchmark addresses like this 2016 Cherry Hill Estate Pinot Noir are exciting enough. Take it from us—there’s no need to play it cool.